Isolation and characterization of 10 polymorphic microsatellite loci from the Chinese ratsnake (Zaocys dhumnades)

The Chinese ratsnake (Zaocys dhumnades) is widely distributed in China, including Taiwan, northwards to Henan, Shanxi and Gansu. The snake has been overexploited by local people for food and traditional Chinese medicine, and is listed as least concerned species according to the China Red Data Book of Endangered Animals. In this study, 10 polymorphic microsatellite markers were isolated and characterized from Z. dhumnades genomic libraries. The mean number of alleles per locus was 15.3 (ranged from 6 to 23), with expected (H _E) and observed (H _O) heterozygosity ranging from 0.550 to 0.914 and from 0.519 to 0.778, respectively. Significant deviation form Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium was not detected at all loci. There was no evidence of linkage disequilibrium among pairs of loci. These microsatellite markers will be valuable tools for further studies on the population structure, genetic variation, and evolutionary history of Z. dhumnades.