Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers were designed
for 10 microsatellite markers using Fast PCR version 3.2
(Kalendar 2003). Annealing and amplification conditions
were standardized and potential interlocus primer interactions
were minimized in an effort to allow for multiplexing
microsatellite loci in a single PCR. Following an initial test
of unlabelled primer sets, four microsatellite loci were
chosen for further optimization. The forward primer of
each of these microsatellites was fluorescently labelled
(Table 1) and all combinations of microsatellite multiplexing
reactions were tested (data not shown). Three of the microsatellite
loci multiplexed well (
Habd
3,
Habd
6,
Habd
9).
Habd
7
was PCR-amplified independently and added to the
multiplex set prior to analysis on an ABI 3100 automated
sequencer (Applied Biosystems).