SNPs Analysis Indicates Non-Uniform Origins of Invasive Mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis Lamarck, 1819) on the Southern African Coast.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the origins of invasive species is necessary to manage them and predict their potential for spreading. The mussel genus Mytilus forms an important component of coastal ecosystems in the northern and southern hemispheres. M. galloprovincialis is an important invasive species globally, first appearing on the South African coast in the 1970s. Studies using nuclear and mitochondrial DNA indicated that the invasion probably originated from the north-east Atlantic. We used fifty-five polymorphic SNPs to genotype mussels from sites across the coast of South Africa with reference samples from the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, and New Zealand to test for possible introgression of the northern and southern taxa. Low levels of genetic differentiation were confirmed, and all

SUBMITTER: Pocwierz-Kotus A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11545541 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature