Use of Microsatellites for Parentage and Kinship Analyses in Animals

Microsatellite markers are quickly becoming the molecular marker of choice for studies of parentage and kinship in animals. In this chapter, we review methods and give protocols for screening potential microsatellite markers, as well as protocols for genotyping individuals with useful markers once they have been identified. In addition, we explain how microsatellites can be used to assess parentage and kinship, give basic analytical methods, and briefly review more sophisticated approaches that can be used to circumvent many of the problems that arise in any real empirical study.