Identification and characterization of simple sequence repeats (SSRs) for population studies of Puccinia novopanici

- Novel SSR primers are reported to study the population genetics of P. novopanici.
- P. novopanici microsatellites from enriched library and ESTs sequences are proposed.
- Eighteen SSR markers were polymorphic for P. novopanici urediniospores.
- SRR markers from P. novopanici can be transfer to other Puccinia spp.

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) can be severely affected by rust disease. Recently switchgrass rust caused by P. emaculata (now confirmed to be Puccinia novopanici) has received most of the attention by the research community because this pathogen is responsible for reducing the biomass production and biofuel feedstock quality of switchgrass. Microsatellite markers found in the literature were either not informative (no allele frequency) or showed few polymorphisms in the target populations, therefore additional markers are needed for future studies of the genetic variation and population structure of P. novopanici. This study reports the development and characterization of novel simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers from a Puccinia emaculata s.l. microsatellite-enriched library and expressed sequence tags (ESTs). Microsatellites were evaluated for polymorphisms on P. emaculata s.l. urediniospores collected in Iowa (IA), Mississippi (MS), Oklahoma (OK), South Dakota (SD) and Virginia (VA). Puccinia novopanici single spore whole genome amplifications were used as templates to validate the SSR reactions protocol and to assess a preliminary population genetics statistics of the pathogen. Eighteen microsatellite markers were polymorphic (average PIC = 0.72) on individual urediniospores, with an average of 8.3 alleles per locus (range 3 to 17). Of the 49 SSRs loci initially identified in P. emaculata s.l., 18 were transferable to P. striiformis f. sp. tritici, 23 to P. triticina, 20 to P. sorghi and 31 to P. andropogonis. Thus, these markers could be useful for DNA fingerprinting and population structure analysis for population genetics, epidemiology and ecological studies of P. novopanici and potentially other related Puccinia species.