RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Whole genome survey of big cats (Genus: Panthera) identifies novel microsatellites of utility in conservation genetic study JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 2020.07.08.193318 DO 10.1101/2020.07.08.193318 A1 Hyun, Jee Yun A1 Pandey, Puneet A1 Kim, Kyung Seok A1 Chon, Alvin A1 Jeong, Daecheol A1 Bhak, Jong A1 Yoo, Mi-Hyun A1 Song, Hey-Kyung A1 Singh, Randeep A1 Min, Mi-Sook A1 Goyal, Surendra Prakash A1 Bayarkhagva, Damdingiin A1 Lee, Hang YR 2020 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/07/08/2020.07.08.193318.abstract AB Big cats (Genus: Panthera) are among the most threatened mammal groups of the world, owing to illegal transnational trade. Conservation genetic studies and effective curbs on poaching are important for the conservation of these charismatic apex predators. A limited number of microsatellite markers exists for Panthera species and researchers often cross-amplify domestic cat microsatellites to study these species. We conducted data mining of seven Panthera genome sequences to discover microsatellites for conservation genetic studies of four threatened big cat species. A total of 32 polymorphic microsatellite loci were identified in silico and tested with 99 big cat individuals and 7 Eurasian lynx. The developed markers were polymorphic in most of the tested species. We propose a set of 15 novel microsatellite markers for use in conservation genetics and wildlife forensic investigations of big cat species. Cumulatively, these markers have a high discriminatory power of one in a million for unrelated individuals and one in a thousand for siblings. Similar PCR conditions of these markers increase the prospects of achieving efficient multiplex PCR assays. This study is a pioneering attempt to synthesise genome wide microsatellite markers for big cats.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.