Characterization of 24 microsatellite loci in delta smelt, Hypomesus transpacificus, and their cross-species amplification in two other smelt species of the Osmeridae family

We characterized 24 polymorphic tetranucleotide microsatellite loci for delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) endemic to the San Francisco Bay Estuary, CA, USA. Screening of samples (n = 30) yielded two to 26 alleles per locus with observed levels of heterozygosity ranging from 0.17 to 1.0. Only one locus deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, suggesting these individuals originate from a single panmictic population. Linkage disequilibrium was found in two pairs of loci after excluding the locus out of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Twenty-two primer pairs cross-amplified in wakasagi smelt (Hypomesus nipponensis), and 15 primer pairs cross-amplified in longfin smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys).