Development of 15 microsatellite loci from mulloway, Argyrosomus japonicus (Pisces: Sciaenidae) using next generation sequencing and an assessment of their cross amplification in other sciaenids

Next generation sequencing was used to develop 15 new polymorphic microsatellite markers for the commercially and recreationally important fish mulloway (Argyrosomus japonicus). Improved knowledge of the genetic structure of the species is necessary for fisheries and environmental management. In a population of mulloway, we found that genetic variation and heterozygosity were high in most of our loci (mean number of alleles per locus = 9.46; mean heterozygosity = 0.660). To test the usefulness of our new markers for genetic research on other sciaenids, we cross amplified samples from eight other related sciaenid species, including three that form important fisheries and others that have significant conservation issues. We found that most of our new primers pairs produced scorable profiles in each of the other important sciaenids.