Development of microsatellite markers for the minute pirate bug Orius sauteri (Poppius), and their cross-species amplification in O. Minutus (L.) and O. strigicollis (Poppius) (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae)

Abstract

We developed 14 polymorphic microsatellite markers for the minute pirate bug Orius sauteri (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae), and tested them with five markers previously developed in O. strigicollis. Except at one locus from O. strigicollis, we obtained amplified fragments from a field population of O. sauteri. The number of alleles ranged from 2 to 14, and observed heterozygosity ranging from 0.000 to 0.900. The observed heterogeneity was negatively correlated with null allele frequencies. Linkage disequilibrium was detected in three pairs of loci. The 19 microsatellite loci were also tested for amplification and polymorphism in two congeneric species, O. minutus and O. strigicollis. Markers could be amplified at many loci, although null allele frequencies were higher in cross-species amplification than in intra-specific amplification. These microsatellite markers will be used in studies of genetic diversity in these species.