The objective of this project is the identification of microsatellites for 16 species of tropical plants and 10 of their pathogens. The development of these markers is of great relevance for learning their specific characteristics (locus specificity, allelic diversity, codominance) and for the possibilities of automation in large laboratories but also for the facilitation of their use in small structures.

Since the costs of searching for microsatellite loci are high, few laboratories can afford this type of research. The microsatellites identified will help increase the potential of CIRAD aid to its partners in the south. They will be used, with the goal of increasing knowledge of genetic resources, in population and genetic mapping studies. For a large number of the proposed species, these will be the first known microsatellites.