Evaluation of Prezygotic Barrier Using Laboratory Crosses Between Three Species of Blue Mussels of The Genus Mytilus, Present Along the Chilean Coast

Jorge E Toro

doi:10.26717/bjstr.2021.34.005505

Abstract

Highlights

Marine mussels represent an important component of the intertidal and subtidal communities and estuaries, in terms of the number of individuals and of biomass and production and are of considerable economic importance to aquaculture in many regions of the world [1,2]
The issue with regard to the recently published evidence of the presence and potential dissemination of alien mussel species in the Chilean coast could cause a tremendous damage to the Chilean indigenous mussel (M. chilensis) aquaculture growing industry
The results of this study provide evidence that there are no differences in the percentage of fertilized eggs between pure line crosses and hybrid crosses between the three blue mussels belogning to the Mytilus genus found in coastal Waters of southern Chile

Summary

Introduction

Marine mussels represent an important component of the intertidal and subtidal communities and estuaries, in terms of the number of individuals and of biomass and production and are of considerable economic importance to aquaculture in many regions of the world [1,2]. The M. chilensis aquaculture began in 1943 in Chiloé Island, southern Chile, and the aquaculture production increased rapidly from 3,864 t in 1993 to 398,274 t in 2019 [3]. The issue with regard to the recently published evidence of the presence and potential dissemination of alien mussel species in the Chilean coast could cause a tremendous damage to the Chilean indigenous mussel (M. chilensis) aquaculture growing industry. In Chile the scientific literature described the presence of the blue mussel M. galloprovincialis in Tongoy Bay [4], central [5] and in southern coast of Chile [6]. The presence of M. edulis has been described in the inner coast of the Chiloé Island [7] and in the Straits of Magellan. Among some of the main features of these Mytilus species is the well-known capability to naturally hybridize among them in locations where their distributions overlap [8,9], these alien mussel species could have the potential for natural hybridization with the native mussel M. chilensis

Objectives

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Results

Conclusion