Desenvolvimento de marcadores moleculares de microssatélites para o estudo do sistema reprodutivo em três espécies de tartarugas do gênero Podocnemis

Abstract

Few data are available about reproductive biology of the genus Podocnemis, especially with respect to the type of mating system. To date studies of mating system with species of the genus Podocnemis have been done only with P. expansa. In the present study we developed 18 primer pairs specific to microsatellite regions in P. unifilis, and we tested their transferability to other species of the genus Podocnemis (P. expansa, P. sextuberculata, P. erythrocephala, P. vogli and P. lewyana) and also to Peltocephalus dumerilianus. These microsatellite markers have proven to be powerful molecular tools for investigating mating systems of P. unifilis, P. sextuberculata and P. erythrocephala. Using different microsatellite panels a minimum of two contributing parents were found in nests of P. erythrocephala, and the presence of up to three contributing parents was found in nests of P. unifilis and P. sextuberculata. These results directly contribute to the knowledge of the reproductive system and indirectly to studies related to the impact of management and reproduction in nature as well as in captivity. Moreover, our results will contribute to improvements in captive breeding programs.