Cetaceans are large mammals widely distributed on Earth. The fin whale, Balaenoptera physalus, is the second largest living animal. In the 20th century, commercial whaling reduced its global population by 70%, and in the Mediterranean Sea not only was their overall population depleted but the migration between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean was reduced. Previous genetic studies identified isolation between these two regions, with a limited gene-flow between these adjacent populations based on nuclear and mitochondrial markers. However, only limited information exists for the Mediterranean population as genetic diversity and abundance trends are still unknown. In this study, 39 highly polymorphic microsatellite markers were tested, including 25 markers developed de novo together with 14 markers previously published. An average allelic diversity of 8.3 alleles per locus was reported, ranging from 3 to 15 alleles per locus, for B. physalus. Expected heterozygosity was variable among loci and ranged from 0.34 to 0.91. Only two markers in the new set were significantly deviant from the Hardy Weinberg equilibrium. Cross-species amplification was tested in four other cetacean species. A total of 27 markers were successfully amplified in the four species (Balaenoptera acutorostrata, Megaptera novaeangliae, Physeter macrocephalus and Globicephala melas). A multivariate analysis on the multilocus genotypes successfully discriminated the five species. This new set of microsatellite markers will not only provide a useful tool to identify and understand the genetic diversity and the evolution of the B. physalus population, but it will also be relevant for other cetacean species, and will allow further parentage analyses. Eventually, this new set of microsatellite markers will provide critical data that will shed light on important biological data within a conservation perspective.

鲸类是在地球上广泛分布的大型哺乳动物。鲸鱼Balaenoptera physalus是第二大活体动物。在20世纪，商业捕鲸减少了70％的全球人口，在地中海，不仅其总人口减少了，而且地中海与大西洋之间的迁徙也减少了。先前的遗传研究确定了这两个区域之间的隔离，基于核和线粒体标记，这些相邻种群之间的基因流有限。但是，由于遗传多样性和丰度趋势仍然未知，关于地中海人口的信息很少。在这项研究中，测试了39个高度多态的微卫星标记，包括从头开发的25个标记以及之前发布的14个标记。据报道，B。physalus的平均等位基因多样性为每个基因座8.3个等位基因，范围为每个基因座3至15个等位基因。预期的杂合度在基因座之间是可变的，范围为0.34至0.91。新集中只有两个标记明显偏离了Hardy Weinberg平衡。跨物种扩增在其他四个鲸类物种中进行了测试。共有27个标记的四个品种被成功扩增（鲸acutorostrata，学名Megaptera novaeangliae，Physeter鲷和Globicephala MELAS）。多基因座基因型的多变量分析成功地区分了这五个物种。这套新的微卫星标记不仅将提供有用的工具来识别和了解physalus B. physalus种群的遗传多样性和进化，而且还将与其他鲸类物种有关，并将允许进一​​步的亲缘关系分析。最终，这组新的微卫星标记将提供关键数据，这些数据将在保护的角度上阐明重要的生物学数据。