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Updated: Jan 22, 2026

Methods for Characterizing the Co-development of Biofilm and Habitat Heterogeneity
Published on: March 11, 2015
Development and characterization of twelve microsatellite markers for the brown macroalgae Dictyota dichotoma
Sofie Vranken1, Frédérique Steen2, Sofie D'hondt2
1Biology Department, Research Group Phycology and Centre for Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Ghent University, Ghent, 9000, Belgium. sofie.vranken@ugent.be.
Background:
The genus Dictyota includes ecologically important brown seaweed species that, apart from contributing to the foundation of the marine ecosystem, are gaining traction for their economic value. Substantial research has focused on taxonomy, chemical composition, ecological roles, and economic potential of Dictyota, including studies on genetics and genomics.
Methods & Results:
Here, we developed twelve novel microsatellite markers for Dictyota dichotoma by using Ion Torrent sequencing. The markers were tested using 50 diploid individuals collected from five natural populations of D. dichotoma. The number of alleles per locus varied between five and thirteen. The total heterozygosity ranged from 0.587 to 0.887 per locus, and from - 0.147 to 0.483 in five populations across its European range.
Conclusions:
These polymorphic microsatellite markers are valuable for studying population genetic diversity and differentiation in D. dichotoma and may also be beneficial for other genetic research related to the reproductive biology of this model species, which displays considerable variation across the species' range.
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