New microsatellite loci confirm hybrid origin, parthenogenetic inheritance, and mitotic gene conversion in the gynogenetic Amazon molly (<i>Poecilia formosa</i>)

Abstract

Abstract We describe the first microsatellite loci for the gynogenetic Amazon molly, Poecilia formosa , an all‐female species arisen through hybridization of the bisexual species Poecilia mexicana and Poecilia latipinna . The loci showed one to six alleles and an expected heterozygosity between zero and 0.75. As expected with parthenogenetic inheritance, most loci were either constantly homozygous (five loci) or constantly heterozygous (eight loci). For six loci, both heterozygotes and homozygotes occurred. This and the fact that some loci only showed alleles of one of the ancestral species could indicate genome homogenization through mitotic gene conversion. Our new loci conformed to the hybrid origin of Amazon molly and are also applicable to both ancestral bisexual species.