the origin and genetic differentiation of the Manila clam (Ruditapes philippinarum) cultured in Europe

• Main Authors: Cordero, David, Delgado, María Jesús, Liu, B., Peña, Juan B., Saavedra, Carlos Felipe
• Other Authors: Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España)
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: Pacific; Crassostrea gigas; Pacific oyster
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/143831; https://doi.org/10.13039/501100003329

Comunicación presentada en el Aquaculture Europe 2014, celebrado en Donostia-San Sebastián, España, del 14 al 17 de octubre de 2014 The Manila clam is an Asian species that was introduced in Europe in the 1970’s due to their advantageous characteristics for cultivation (Flassch and Leborgne, 1992). Currently, the Manila clam makes up the bulk of European production of clams (FAO data for 2012: 31 836 T). The species has spread over wide areas of the European coasts, either by natural reproduction, or aided by man through induced reproduction in hatcheries. A scientifically sound management of Manila clam genetic resources requires the knowledge of the genetic variability of European populations. Genetic studies (Sekine et al., 2006; Mao et al., 2011) indicate that the populations of the native range of the species in Asia are genetically subdivided, so the genetic composition of European populations would be dependent on the geographic area from which the founder stock came from. Published reports (Flassch and Leborgne 1992) claim that the first introduced clams were seeded in NW France and came from the NW Pacific coast, where, in turn, they were accidentally introduced 40 years earlier as a carry over with the seed of Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) imported from Japan. Therefore, it is of great interest to know whether the clams currently living in the European coasts all come from the reported introduction of American/Japanese seed, or whether they are a mixed stock resulting from posterior, non reported introductions by clam farmers. With this aim we have conducted a genetic study of some European Manila clam populations, and compared them with samples taken form the natural range of the species in China and Japan, and from the American area of origin of the reported European founder stock. This work was supported by grant AGL2007-60049 from the National Research Plan of the Government of Spain. Peer Reviewed