Development of novel microsatellite markers for the secret cave cricket, ceuthophilus secretus

Abstract

The secret cave cricket, Ceuthophilus secretes Scudder (Orthroptera: Rhaphidophoridae), is an obligate trogloxene endemic to central Texas, USA, and is a primary source of energy and nutrients for sensitive cave ecosystems. In this study, nine polymorphic microsatellite markers were developed from genomic DNA of C. secretes. Genotypes of 120 individuals sampled from four localities on the Fort Hood Military Reservation, Killeen, Texas, were analyzed to characterize the polymorphism at each locus. The number of alleles ranged from 19 to 46. All paired loci were in linkage equilibrium. Four loci had significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Observed heterozygosity varied from 0.793 to 0.959. These loci provide a means of characterizing population genetic structure in this species.