Identification and characterization of microsatellite loci for genetic analysis of medically important scorpion species

The proposed project will focus on microsatellite marker identification in Centruroides vittatus, a member of a medically important scorpion genus. The investigators will clone and sequence several microsatellite loci for use as polymorphic loci in determination of genetic variation within and among scorpion populations. This information is necessary to help understand how genetic differentiation is associated with medically relevant, venom evolution in this species and its more toxic sister species, Centruroides exilicauda.