Twenty polymorphic microsatellite loci developed from the four-eyed turtle (Sacalia quadriocellata)

Twenty polymorphic microsatellites were isolated from the four-eyed turtle, Sacalia quadriocellata with a partial genomic library enriched for tandem repeat sequences of (CA)₁₂ and (GA)₁₂. Polymorphism was investigated for these markers in 22 individuals collected from Guangdong Provincial Wildlife Rescue Center in Guangzhou, China. The allele number ranged from 4 to 13 per locus, with the average of 8. The observed and expected heterozygosity varied from 0.300 to 0.947 with an average of 0.635 and 0.317 to 0.909 with an average of 0.771 respectively. Exact tests for HWE revealed that 10 of 20 loci significantly deviated from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium after Bonferroni correction. Only one pair of loci (SYB56 and SYB81) showed significant linkage disequilibrium. These microsatellite loci will be useful for population genetics, ecology and determining the conservation status of imperiled populations in Sacalia quadriocellata.