Journal of Genetics, Vol. 97, No. 2, June 2018, pp. 549–553 © Indian Academy of Sciences https://doi.org/10.1007/s12041-018-0922-z RESEARCH NOTE Rapid isolation and characterization of microsatellites in the critically endangered mountain bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus isaaci) FRASER J. COMBE1, EVELYN TAYLOR-COX1, GRAEME FOX1, TOMMY SANDRI1,3, NICK DAVIS2, MARTIN J. JONES1, BRADLEY CAIN1,DAVIDMALLON1 and W.EDWIN HARRIS1∗ 1Division of Biology and Conservation Ecology, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, M1 5GD, UK 2North of England Zoological Society, Chester Zoo, CH2 1EU Chester, UK 3Tropical Biodiversity Section, MUSE–Museo delle Scienze, Corso del Lavoro e della Scienza 3, 38122 Trento, Italy *For correspondence. E-mail:
[email protected]. Received 28 March 2017; revised 19 June 2017; accepted 29 June 2017; published online 4 May 2018 Abstract. High-throughput sequencing tools promise to revolutionize many aspects of genetic research, e.g. by allowing the identification of functional adaptive genetic variation. However, the expense and expertise required to apply these tools to basic conservation questions is a challenge for applications outside academia, resulting in a so-called ‘conservation genomics gap’ (Shafer et al. 2015). The conservation genetics paradigm is that, basic information about inbreeding and gene flow are often critical to inform conservation management of small populations (Ouborg et al. 2010). This information is often needed quickly and ideally should be accessible to workers without special expertise in genomics (DeSalle and Amato 2004). While the inferential power of high- throughput sequencing to interrogate the genome is profound, the cost for population analysis is higher (though decreasing) than for traditional neutral markers.