Complete mitochondrial genome of the hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria)

Abstract

The hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria) is an important economic and ecological bivalve. In this study, the mitochondrial genome was sequenced. The sequenced genome size was 18,360 bp. The nucleotide composition was asymmetric with a AT bias. Mitogenome contained 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 2 rRNA genes, and 22 tRNA genes. Of 13 PCGs, 3 genes (cox3, nad3, and cox2) had incomplete stop codons. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis using 12 PCGs (except atp8) figured out that M. mercenaria was closely related to genus Dosinia. The complete mitogenome of M. mercenaria provides essential information for further phylogenetic and evolutionary analysis in Veneridae.

Germplasm evaluation and identification of the population source of hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria) in China using SSR and COI markers

“…The second significant aspect is historical introduction. All current individuals in China are descendants of a small number of specimens brought from North America (Hu et al, 2019), resulting in initial minimal genetic differences among different Chinese populations. In our view, the historical introduction plays a pivotal role in shaping these outcomes, while the migration process simply facilitates this pattern.…”

“…Since its introduction in 1997, the hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria), a Veneroida clam species widely dispersed along the east coast of North America (Harte, 2001), has rapidly flourished and become a significant marine aquaculture bivalve species along the Chinese coast (Hu et al, 2019). However, the introduction of hard clams from the east coast of North America has resulted in all current individuals in China being descended from a limited number of parents in controlled environments through extensive mixed breeding, multi-generational breeding, and inbreeding.…”

Comparative Analysis of the nrDNA Repeat Unit of Manila Clam Ruditapes philippinarum and Quahog Mercenaria mercenaria

“…M. mercenaria is native to the east coast of the US and Canada and has been introduced to China for commercial cultivation [14]. Although R. philip-pinarum and M. mercenaria have been commercially exploited and deeply manipulated by human activities, their molecular genetics remain understudied [13,14]. The com-plete nrDNA repeat units of R. philippinarum and M. mercenaria are sequenced for the first time in this study.…”

“…R. philippinarum originated in the Indo-Pacific region, but has been in-troduced to the west coast of North America and the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts of Europe [13]. M. mercenaria is native to the east coast of the US and Canada and has been introduced to China for commercial cultivation [14]. Although R. philip-pinarum and M. mercenaria have been commercially exploited and deeply manipulated by human activities, their molecular genetics remain understudied [13,14].…”

The complete mitogenome of Callista chinensis (Bivalvia: Veneridae)

“…Mitogenome is a useful tool for population genetic and phylogenetic studies. Currently, the complete mitogenome DNA data have been published for 19 Veneridae species (Bao et al 2016;Dong et al 2016;Lv et al 2018;Hu et al 2019;Qi et al 2019). For a better understanding of the evolutionary relationships of C. chinensis, we sequenced the complete mitogenome of the species and used this mitogenome to assess the phylogenetic relationships within the family Veneridae.…”