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The edible cockle Cerastoderma edule is a marine bivalve commercially fished in several European countries that have lately suffered a significant decrease in production. Despite its commercial importance, genetic studies in this species are scarce. In this work, genetic diversity and population differentiation of C. edule has been assessed using 11 microsatellite markers in eight locations from the European Atlantic coast. All localities showed similar observed and expected heterozygosity values, but displayed differences in allelic richness, with lowest values obtained for localities situated farther north. Global Fst value revealed the existence of significant genetic structure; all but one locality from the Iberian Peninsula were genetically homogeneous, while more remote localities from France, The Netherlands, and Scotland were significantly different from all other localities. A combined effect of isolation by distance and the existence of barriers that limit gene flow may explain the differentiation observed.

Twelve polymorphic microsatellites were isolated and characterized from a genomic library enriched for ATC in the commercially important cockle Cerastoderma edule. The microsatellite loci were analyzed in a sample of 30 individuals collected from Oosterschelde, The Netherlands. The number of alleles ranged from 3 to 17, and the values of observed and expected heterozygosity varied from 0.024 to 0.900 and from 0.399 to 0.885, respectively. No significant linkage disequilibrium was detected between loci and seven conformed to HardyWeinberg equilibrium. These microsatellite loci will be useful for assessment of genetic diversity and population structure in C. edule and will help in the sustainable management of this resource.

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