Microsatellite polymorphism in the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata

A total of forty-three simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were identified in th e Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly) Ceratitis capitate. The most common SSR was the dinucleotide (TG)(n)/(CA)(n) occurring in thirty of the forty-three microsatellite loci. Polymorphism at ten dinucleotide markers was investig ated in 122 flies from six natural populations sampled in the native and co lonized areas. A very high level of allelic diversity was detected in the s pecies range. An average of 13.6 alleles was found over all the ten loci in dicating the informativeness of SSRs as genetic markers for the medfly. The distribution of microsatellite polymorphism in the species range reflects the medfly colonization history.