Simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers in the ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria bicolor for environmental monitoring of introduced strains and molecular ecology applications.

Simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were developed from SSR-enriched genome libraries for the ectomycorrhizal basidiomycete Laccaria bicolor. Seven markers were single-locus and amplified unambiguously in L. bicolor. The seven SSR markers were further characterized using an array of 15L. bicolor strains representative of diverse origins worldwide. The observed number of alleles per locus varied from 5–9 and the values of observed heterozygosity from 0.167 to 0.667. The seven SSR loci could be amplified from DNA extracted from root tips of L. bicolor inoculated pine seedlings. All the L. bicolor ectomycorrhizas analysed exhibited the same SSR multi-locus profile as that detected for the UAMH8232 inoculant strain. The set of markers described represents a potent tool for the monitoring of introduced strains of L. bicolor and for molecular ecology applications.