Microsatellite loci for studies of the common cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis

The common cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis, represents a model mobile marine species for studies of evolutionary processes occurring across a range of spatial and temporal scales. Such studies are relevant to sustainable fishery management and biodiversity conservation as the species is intensely exploited and an important component of inshore marine ecosystems. The isolation and preliminary characterisation of 10 dinucleotide repeat microsatellite loci is described. Genotyping of 48 adults from Agon Coutainville (France) revealed polymorphism at 9 of the loci. Among the polymorphic loci there was an average of 8.8 alleles per locus (range 3–14) with observed and expected heterozygosity per locus ranging from 0.104 to 0.792 and from 0.101 to 0.806, respectively. No evidence of linkage disequilibrium was detected between any locus pair. The loci described here represent a valuable addition to the suite of genetic markers applicable to S. officinalis research.