Novel polymorphic microsatellites for the red‐legged partridge (<i>Alectoris rufa</i>) and cross‐species amplification in <i>Alectoris graeca</i>

Abstract The red‐legged partridge, Alectoris rufa , is an endemic species of the southwestern Mediterranean, and the most popular game bird in the Iberian Peninsula. A total of 27 microsatellite loci was isolated from an enriched genomic library of A. rufa . Six perfect GT microsatellites were characterized and optimized in 45 individuals of A. rufa . All loci revealed high levels of polymorphism with a number of alleles that ranged from three to 13. Observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.2 to 0.6. Cross‐species amplification showed that all loci were also polymorphic in rock partridge, Alectoris graeca . The new markers will be useful in determining hybridization between both species of Alectoris .