ORTIZ-RUIZ, Yadira*; JANZEN, Fredric J; Iowa State University; Iowa State Univesity: Molecular ecology of naturally-occurring albinism in a population of painted turtles(Chrysemys picta)

Albinism is a rare condition (1:10,000 to 1:40,000 individuals) that arises from the combination of recessive alleles from both parents. Albinos are handicapped by photosensitivity and other eye defects, plus sunlight ages their skin prematurely. Albinism represents a particular threat to turtles since they rely heavily on basking to grow and may even inhibit mate location in some visually oriented species. For the first time, we report instances of albinism in a large population of painted turtles in the Mississippi River in northern Illinois. In 2002 and 2003, three albino turtles hatched from eggs laid by the same female together with normal colored hatchlings in both nests. We used four microsatellite loci to genotype the female and the hatchlings, permitting us to accurately deduce the multilocus paternal genotype(s). We find that the same male sired all the offspring in both of these albino-containing clutches laid by this female, dramatically confirming the use of stored sperm across years to fertilize eggs by these turtles.