Isolation and characterization of 12 tetra-repeated microsatellite loci from the Formosan grass lizard (Takydromus formosanus)

Twelve tetra-repeated microsatellite loci were developed for the island-endemic grass lizard Takydromus formosanus (Squamata: Lacertidae). We characterized these loci by genotyping 51 individuals sampled from six localities. The number of alleles per locus ranged between 12 and 23, whereas the observed heterozygosity ranged between 0.686 and 0.941. None of these loci showed gametic disequilibrium or sex linkage. With such high polymorphism, we believe that these loci should be suitable for fine-scaled analysis of population structure, hybridizations or individual identification of grass lizards.