Development and characterisation of 16 novel microsatellite markers for the brown alga Sargassum fusiforme (Harvey) Setchell

Abstract

<p><em>Sargassum fusiforme</em> (Harvey) Setchell (Sargassaceae, Phaeophyta) is an ecologically and economically important kelp species in East Asia. Restoration and responsible utilisation of <em>S. fusiforme</em> would be facilitated by the availability of an appropriate set of molecular markers. In the present study, we developed 16 microsatellite markers for <em>S. fusiforme</em>. A total of 99 different alleles were observed at the 16 microsatellite loci across 50 individual samples. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 4 to 10, with an average of 6.2 per locus. The observed and  xpected heterozygosities ranged from 0.483 to 0.833 and from 0.513 to 0.840, respectively. Only three of the loci deviated significantly from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium after Bonferroni correction. No significant linkage disequilibrium was detected among the microsatellite loci. The obtained microsatellite markers will facilitate related research on <em>S. fusiforme</em>, such as ecological studies and genetic diversity assessments.</p>