Development and characterization of sixteen microsatellite loci for Geosmithia morbida, the causal agent of thousand canker disease in black walnut (Juglans nigra)

Sixteen polymorphic microsatellite loci were identified from the fungal pathogen Geosmithia morbida. Loci were characterized for 13 different isolates collected in 2010 from symptomatic black walnut trees in Tennessee. A total of 77 loci were tested and 16 of those were optimized, screened and selected for diversity studies of G. morbida. Number of alleles per locus ranged from 3 to 8. These microsatellite loci will be useful for rapid disease diagnostic, population genetic analyses on a global scale as well as further epidemiological studies of G. morbida.