Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci in Aspergillus sydowii, a pathogen of Caribbean sea fan corals.

Here we report on nine microsatellite loci designed for Aspergillus sydowii, a widely distributed soil saprobe that is also the pathogenic agent of aspergillosis in Caribbean sea fan corals. Primers were tested on 20 A. sydowii isolates from the Caribbean, 17 from diseased sea fans and three from environmental sources. All loci were polymorphic and exhibited varying degrees of allelic diversity (three to nine alleles). Gene diversity (expected heterozygosity) ranged from 0.353 to 0.821. These primers will enable future research into the epidemiology of A. sydowii as an emergent infectious disease.