Transferability of microsatellite primers produced in brown brocket deer (Mazama gouazoubira) for use in genetic studies with the marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus)

• Grant number: 13/17257-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2013
• End date: June 30, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Animal Genetics
• Principal Investigator: José Maurício Barbanti Duarte
• Grantee: Lívia Perles
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The Marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus), only representative of the genus Blastocerus is the largest species of deer Brazilian. Recently drainage of wetlands for construction of hydroelectrics has become a major threat to the species. With the conclusion of Hydroelectric "Engenheiro Sérgio Motta", marsh deer populations on the Paraná River would be affected, so the Marsh deer Project was implemented , which held reintroductions of several individuals in new areas. Research conducted in the reintroduced population of the marsh deer on the Ecological Station of Jataí (ESJ) indicated that only seven of the eight animals introduced really founded the population. Due to the small number of founding individuals of new population, several genetic problems may be occurring, being necessary the genetic monitoring of this population. The development of specific primers for each species is one of the major problems of using genetic markers, due to extensive work and high laboratory costs. It has been observed that due to the conservation of hybridization sites of primers for microsatellite loci in related species is possible to use primers already described for other species. Faced with the need for long-term molecular monitoring the population of the marsh deer reintroduced in ESJ ,is necessary the standardization of primers for microsatellite regions for studies in this population. This project has the objective of testing heterologous primers developed for Mazama gouazoubira in samples of ESJ individuals. The DNA of 8 animals reintroduced will be amplified using primers 10. After genotyping the parameters evaluated will be: 1) allelic diversity, 2) Allele frequencies 3) Size of the amplified fragment, 4) Polymorphic Information Content (PIC) of the loco.The best primers will be chosen to be used in future studies with the reintroduced population.