<scp>msatcommander</scp>: detection of microsatellite repeat arrays and automated, locus‐specific primer design

TLDR

msatcommander is available at http://code.google.com/p/msatcommander/. The study introduces msatcommander, a platform‑independent program designed to search for microsatellite arrays, design primers, and tag primers automatically. msatcommander accepts DNA sequences in fasta format, outputs locus‑specific primers and data to CSV files, and offers a graphical interface for OS X and Windows XP, with source code for other systems requiring Python 2.4, Biopython 1.43, and wxPython 2.8.

Abstract

Abstract msatcommander is a platform‐independent program designed to search for microsatellite arrays, design primers, and tag primers using an automated routine. msatcommander accepts as input DNA sequence data in single‐sequence or concatenated, fasta ‐formatted files. Search data and locus‐specific primers are written to comma‐separated value files for subsequent use in spreadsheet or database programs. Binary versions of the graphical interface for msatcommander are available for Apple OS X and Windows XP. Users of other operating systems may run the graphical interface version using the available source code, provided their environment supports at least Python 2.4, Biopython 1.43, and wxPython 2.8. msatcommander is available from http://code.google.com/p/msatcommander/ .