Research overview: microsatellite markers in felid genetics

Before genome sequencing became routine, microsatellites, short tandem repeats scattered through the genome, were the workhorse markers of felid population and forensic genetics. This overview surveys how feline microsatellite panels were developed from the domestic cat and applied across the family for individual identification, parentage, population structure, and bottleneck detection. It discusses their use in studies of cheetahs, lions, tigers, pumas, and the Florida panther, their continuing value in noninvasive and forensic work, and how they laid the groundwork for the transition to single-nucleotide-polymorphism panels and whole-genome approaches in modern conservation genetics of cats. Their high variability and ease of scoring made them especially powerful for distinguishing individuals and detecting recent inbreeding, cementing their long-standing role before sequencing costs fell enough to favor genome-wide markers.