Twelve microsatellites for two deep sea polychaete tubeworm species, Lamellibrachia luymesi and Seepiophila jonesi, from the Gulf of Mexico

Abstract

The vestimentiferan tubeworms Lamellibrachia luymesi and Seepiophila jonesi are found at hydrocarbon seeps in the Gulf of Mexico. Primers for polymorphic microsatellite loci were developed from genomic libraries of L. luymesi (five loci) and from S. jonesi tissue (eight loci) and were used to screen individuals collected from nine northern Gulf of Mexico hydrocarbon seep sites. Loci had from four to more than 50 alleles with high expected levels of heterozygosity. Cross-species amplification, tested on seven vestimentiferan species including both hydrothermal vent and cold seep species, was generally strong in similar species but weak in more genetically distant species.