Sciaenops ocellatus Linkage Map. Sciaenops ocellatus

Developments in next-generation sequencing allow genotyping of thousands of genetic markers across hundreds of individuals in a cost-effective manner. Because of this, it is now possible to rapidly produce dense genetic linkage maps for non-model species. Here, we report a high density genetic linkage map for red drum, a marine fish species of considerable economic importance in the southeastern United States and elsewhere. We used a prior microsatellite-based linkage map as a framework and incorporated 1,794 haplotyped contigs derived from high-throughput, reduced representation DNA sequencing to produce a linkage map containing 1,794 haplotyped restriction-site associated DNA (RAD) contigs, 437 anonymous microsatellites, and 44 expressed sequence-tag-linked microsatellites (EST-SSRs). The linkage map will be a useful resource for red drum commercial and restoration aquaculture, and for better understanding and managing populations of red drum in the wild.