Integrating traditional taxonomy and DNA barcoding for the identification of some bivalves in the Northern Red Sea, Egypt

Abdelsalam Et Al., Khaled M.

doi:10.21608/ejabf.2022.244349

Integrating traditional taxonomy and DNA barcoding for the identification of some bivalves in the Northern Red Sea, Egypt

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Khaled M. Abdelsalam et al.

10.21608/ejabf.2022.244349

Abstract

In attempting to reach integration between the morphological characteristics and DNA barcoding analysis, the present study was designed to confirm the identification of some bivalve molluscs collected by a fishing vessel working in the Suez Gulf, North of the Egyptian Red Sea, with special reference to the ambiguous species. Some external and internal morphology of the studied shells were characterized (e.g., the shape of the shell and umbo; colour patterns of the external and internal of the shell; the shape of the pallial line; cardinal and lateral teeth; the external and/or internal ligament, which hinged the two valves together). The mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene, which is highly varied among the studied bivalve species, was also used to evaluate the molecular identification of bivalve samples. The morphological and molecular analyses resulted in the six species namely: Dosinia amphidesmoides (Reeve, 1850); Gafrarium pectinatum (Linnaeus, 1758); Circenita varia (Forsskål in Niebuhr, 1775); Circenita callipyga (Born, 1778); Mactra glauca (Born, 1778), and Gari depressa (Pennant, 1777). Morphological characterization and molecular identification were effective for distinguishing the bivalve species collected from the Gulf of Suez, Red Sea, and will provide a base for future phylogenetic analyses for additional bivalve research.

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