Fine-scale population structure of the northern hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria) revealed by genome-wide SNP markers.

ABSTRACT: Aquaculture is growing rapidly worldwide, and sustainability is dependent on an understanding of current genetic variation and levels of connectivity among populations. Genetic data are essential to mitigate the genetic and ecological impacts of aquaculture on wild populations and guard against unintended human-induced loss of intraspecific diversity in aquacultured lines. Impacts of disregarding genetics can include loss of diversity within and between populations and disruption of local adaptation patterns, which can lead to a decrease in fitness. The northern hard clam, Mercenaria mercenaria (Linnaeus, 1758), is an economically valuable aquaculture species along the North American Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Hard clams have a pelagic larval phase that allows for dispersal, but the

SUBMITTER: Ropp AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10445094 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature