Twenty-one new sequence markers for population genetics, species delimitation and phylogenetics in wall lizards (Podarcis spp.)

BACKGROUND: Wall lizards of genus Podarcis are abundant and conspicuous reptiles inhabiting Europe and North Africa. In recent years, they have become a popular lizard model for phylogeographical and evolutionary ecology studies. However a lack of suitable nuclear markers currently presents a limitation on analyses of molecular evolution within this genus. We address this limitation by developing twenty-one new primer pairs for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and sequencing of anonymous sequence markers in Podarcis vaucheri and performed an assay of their cross-amplification and polymorphism levels in two closely- (P. bocagei and P. liolepis) and two distantly-related (P. muralis and P. tiliguerta) congeners. FINDINGS: Cross-amplification and sequencing was straightforward among members of the Iberian and North-African group within genus Podarcis (which includes P. vaucheri), and somewhat less successful in species belonging to other groups (one and four loci out of 21 failed to amplify in P. muralis and P. tiliguerta, respectively, and overall success rates were lower). Nucleotide diversity for the five species examined ranged from 0.35% to 3.5%, with an average of 1.5% across all loci. Insertion and deletion polymorphisms were found in all but three loci. CONCLUSIONS: Given the high cross-amplification rates, these markers constitute a valuable addition to set of genomic resources available for Podarcis, especially in studies dealing with phylogenetics, species delimitation, population genetics and phylogeography.