Isolation and characterization of 25 microsatellite loci from the Pacific bluefin tuna Thunnus orientalis (Perciformes, Scombridae)

The pacific bluefin tuna (PBT) Thunnus orientalis is one of the most important species for fisheries in the world. This species has been highly exploited in fisheries, resulting in dwindling of its natural resources. The artificial hatching of a third generation of fully cultured PBT was a success in 2007, suggesting the possibility of mass production of PBT for food and for seed release. To enhance stock structure studies and investigate genetic feature of seedlings, we isolated 25 polymorphic microsatellite loci (2–18 alleles/locus; expected heterozygosity, 0.042–0.941) from PBT.