Species identification of slugs of genus Arion Férussac, 1819 (Mollusca, Pulmonata) on the basis of genetics studies

Abstract

Species identification is the first task on purpose to improve the status of biodiversity by safeguarding ecosystems, species and genetic diversity – one of goals (C) of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity for the 2011–2020 period implementing The Convention on Biological Diversity. Slugs need a modern taxonomic revision thus RAPD-PCR (random amplification of polymorphic DNA by the polymerase chain reaction) technique and sequences analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene were used in order to design molecular markers for 5 species of genus Arion Ferussac, 1819 obtained from Lithuania and Poland. Six used RAPD primers revealed species-specific bands for all studied Arion species. Results with the use of RAPD primers and sequences analysis of COI gene fragment (655 bp) showed that Lithuanian ‘A. hortensis’ belong not to A. hortensis but to A. fuscus and there is no variability among them. It is concluded that all reports about A. hortensis in Lithuania were made based on the external morphology without the anatomical analysis of reproductive organs or the use of molecular methods, hence all were erroneous. All slugs, determined as A. hortensis or A. subfuscus in Lithuania, according to novel genetic data belong to A. fuscus. It was specified that all three Carinarion species (A. silvaticus, A. circumscriptus and A. fasciatus) live in Lithuania. Keywords: DNA-fingerprinting, DNA sequencing, COI gene, slugs, Arion