Characterization of microsatellite markers in the interspecific hybrid Phytophthora alni ssp. alni, and cross-amplification with related taxa

Phytophthora alni ssp. alni is an interspecific hybrid oomycete causing a large-scale decay of alders throughout Europe. In this study we developed a set of 10 microsatellite markers that shows promise for population studies and for studying hybridization events between the parental species of the hybrid. Moreover, the genotype and the ploidy of the different subspecies of P. alni might be inferred from the quantitative ratio of amplified genomespecific alleles. Nine primer pairs cross amplified with the related species Phytophthora cambivora and Phytophthora fragariae and yielded distinct allele