During genotyping 150 microsatellites in a F1 family of common carp, six mutations were found at five microsatellite loci. The overall mutation rate of common carp microsatellites was 2.53×10-4 per locus per generation. At five loci, mutations increased the length of alleles by at least one repeat unit, suggesting mutations at microsatellite loci in common carp do not follow strict stepwise mutation model. The data on mutation rates and patterns can facilitate population genetics studies, and provide useful parameters for estimating a long-term effective population size of common carp.
