New polymorphic microsatellite loci for different camel species

Abstract
New microsatellite loci were screened and sequenced from the genomic DNA of male Camelus bactrianus. Among 32 loci, 23 were amplified in bactrian and dromedary species, 19 in llama and 20 in alpaca. The different species had similar fragment lengths per locus, with more striking similarities between bactrian and dromedary and between llama and alpaca, respectively. Seven loci had more than 10 alleles each, nine were monomorphic in all species, and one was monomorphic in Old World and polymorphic in New World camels. The results show that the informative microsatellite loci can be widely applied to several species.