Abstract

Microsatellite loci for Chaerephon pumilus sensu lato from south eastern Africa were cross-amplified using primers developed for the Mexican free-tailed bat, Tadarida brasiliensis. Two dinucleotide and four tetranucleotide loci were recovered and genotyped for 74 bats, yielding 9 to 15 alleles per locus. The observed and expected heterozygosities were 0.06 to 0.84 and 0.54 to 0.81 respectively, and the PIC values ranged from 0.51 to 0.80, indicative of considerable variability within the sample. There was no evidence of linkage disequilibrium among pairs of loci, or of deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. These six loci were informative in studies of population genetic structure of C. pumilus sensu lato.

Key words: Bats, Chaerephon pumilus, Chiroptera, microsatellites, Molossidae, cross-genus amplification.