Marine Biology Research, vol.7, no.7, pp.690-700, 2011 (SCI-Expanded)
The Mediterranean mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis, is a commercially important species with a continuous distribution spanning the eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Aegean and the Black Sea. Previous genetic research has indicated differentiation between the Aegean and the Ukrainian Black Sea populations of this species. Using the COIII region of mitochondrial DNA and six microsatellite markers, we investigated whether there is any genetic differentiation among populations of the Black Sea, the Bosphorus Strait and the Sea of Marmara, on a local scale. A total of 170 mussels representing eight localities extending from the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, including the Bosphorus Strait, were analysed. Results for mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite analysis showed no significant genetic grouping among geographical regions. Ukrainian samples differed from those analysed in this study by a single base position. These results suggest that the Bosphorus Strait does not restrict gene flow for this species. Analysis of samples from a greater geographic range, encompassing the Dardanelles, the Aegean, and more northern populations in the Black Sea, will be necessary to understand the nature of the previously reported genetic break of the Mediterranean mussels between the Black Sea and the Aegean.