Isolation and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite loci in the grand jackknife clam Solen grandis (Bivalvia: Veneroida)

The grand jackknife clam Solen grandis (Dunker, 1861) is an overexploited bivalve species. In order to promote a conservation program for this species, it is necessary to evaluate its genetic diversity and population genetics. For this purpose, we isolated the first set of 18 polymorphic microsatellite markers and examined their allelic variation using a total of 30 wild individuals collected from one locality. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 5 to 24, and the observed and expected heterozygosity varied from 0.300 to 0.967 and from 0.721 to 0.952, respectively. The high variabilities at these loci indicated that they would be useful tool for exploring the population genetics of S. grandis.