Development of 10 microsatellite loci from the Korean Ratsnake ( Elaphe schrenckii ) and its application across Elaphe species from South Korea, Russia, and China

We have developed 10 microsatellite loci from the Korean ratsnake Elaphe schrenckii . Polymorphism of each locus was assessed in 25 unrelated individuals for E. schrenckii from South Korea, 10 E. anomala and 10 E. schrenckii from China, and 10 E. schrenckii from Russia. E. anomala , a closely related species to E. schrenckii in China. The number of alleles per locus varied from 1–9 (mean 4.4) for Korean populations, 2–7 (mean 3.9) for Chinese E. anomala , 1–7 (mean 4.0) for Chinese E. schrenckii , and 1–4 (mean 2.5) for Russian E. schrenckii . The average expected heterozygosity was 0.500, 0.534, 0.487, and 0.338 for E. schrenckii from South Korea, E. anomala from China, E. schrenckii from China, and E. schrenckii from Russia, respectively. The microsatellite markers used in this study may be applied to other Elaphe species for population analysis, eliminating the time-consuming task of finding new loci. These selected markers are useful for assessing population structure, intraspecific variation, and conservation and management of E. schrenckii .