Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 25, 2026

Laboratory Protocol for Genetic Gut Content Analyses of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates Using Group-specific rDNA Primers
Published on: October 5, 2017
Patterns of spatial genetic structuring in the endangered limpet Patella ferruginea: implications for the
Marco Casu1, Georgina A Rivera-Ingraham, Piero Cossu
1Dipartimento di Zoologia e Genetica Evoluzionistica, Università di Sassari, Via F. Muroni 25, 07100 Sassari, Italy. marcasu@uniss.it
Abstract:
Patella ferruginea Gmelin, 1791 is an endangered marine gastropod endemic to the Western Mediterranean. Its range is restricted to the Sardinian-Corsican region (SCR), North Africa, a few scattered sites in Southern Spain, and Sicily. Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers and three different mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) regions, Cytochrome c Oxidase subunit I, 12S (small-subunit ribosomal RNA gene) and 16S (large-subunit ribosomal RNA gene), were used to investigate the presence of genetic population structuring. The mtDNA sequences showed very low levels of genetic differentiation. Conversely, ISSRs showed the presence of two main genetic groups, corresponding to Spain, North Africa and Sicily and the SCR. The SCR was further split into two subgroups. The ISSR results suggest that, on a regional scale, the genetic structure of P. ferruginea is mainly determined by the restriction of gene flow by dispersal barriers. On a more local scale human harvesting may play a crucial role in population structuring by increasing the effect of genetic drift.
Related Concept Videos
Habitat Fragmentation
Multi-species Conserved Sequences
Although the genome of each species varies greatly from each other, a few sequences are highly conserved. Such conserved DNA...
Diversity of Protists III
Conservation of Declining Populations
Conservation of Small Populations
Genetics of Speciation

