Mitochondrial DNA Barcoding of the Pacific Oyster Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg, 1793) (Mollusca: Bivalvia: Ostreidae), Cultivated in the Black Sea

Abstract

To clarify the taxonomic assignment of oysters bred at the nursery of the Kovalevsky Institute of Marine Biological Research, Russian Academy of Sciences (IMBR RAS), and to determine the genetic variability parameters, the sequence variation of oyster mitochondrial COI and 16S rRNA gene fragments was analyzed. Comparison with other species of the genera Crassostrea and Ostrea showed that oysters bred at the nursery belonged to Crassostrea gigas. The generation examined was characterized by considerable decrease in genetic variability.