Brief communication. Characterization of DNA microsatellite loci from a threatened snake: the eastern massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus c. catenatus and their use in population studies

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Abstract
We describe the isolation and genetic characterization of six microsatellite DNA loci from a threatened snake species, the eastern massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus c. catenatus and document the use of these loci for a variety of population-level analyses. Based on data from more than 70 adults from a single population in Killbear Provincial Park, Ontario, these loci: (1) are highly variable, with numbers of detected alleles per locus ranging between 4 and 12 and expected heterozygosities between 0.15 and 0.85, although observed heterozygosities are lower; (2) generally segregate in a Mendelian fashion based on comparisons between genotypes of mothers and their offspring in two litters; (3) may not evolve via a stepwise mutation model as based on frequency distributions of allele sizes; (4) are sufficiently variable for accurate determination of paternity in this species with a significant probability (P = .979) of detecting multiple paternity in single broods; and (5) amplify similar size fragments in other species of snakes. Further analyses demonstrate a significant heterozygote deficiency at all loci in this population which, for at least three of the six loci, is not likely due to the presence of null alleles. This pattern suggests that this population has experienced local inbreeding and/or is subdivided on a microgeographic scale. These markers will be ideal for further analyses of population variation and differentiation in this species, which will provide useful information for conservation and evolutionary studies of these snakes.

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