Isolation and characterization of microsatellite markers for the causal agent of barley leaf rust, Puccinia hordei

In this study, we isolated and characterized seventy-six polymorphic microsatellite loci in the barley leaf rust pathogen, Puccinia hordei. The loci were screened with 19 isolates of P. hordei to assess polymorphism. The markers exhibited high variability, with the number of alleles ranging from 3 to 9 with an average of 4.92 alleles per locus. The polymorphic information content (PIC) varied from 0.401 to 0.843 with an average value of 0.624 per locus. These polymorphic microsatellite loci are the first of its type developed for P. hordei and will be extremely useful in studies of population genetics and in monitoring the global movement of this important cereal rust pathogen.