Morphological Variation and Genetic Relationship among Populations of the Shortnecked Clam Ruditapes philippinarum Collected from Different Habitats

The characteristics of the populations of shortnecked clam (Ruditapes philipinarum) originated from three different seed-production sites, Hadong, Kochang and Ulsan along the coast of Korea, were analysed by the morphological differences and the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) profiles. The morphology of the shell and survival rate for each population were also investigated 13-months after transplantation to a farming site in Shinsung. The morphology of the populations from Hadong and Kochang showed significant differences (P<0.05), but one year after transplantation to Shinsung, the morphology of these three populations was no longer significantly different (P>0.05). The template DNA for RAPD was efficiently extracted from the digestive diverticula of the clams. Up to 13 of amplified fragments were detected using arbitrary primers. Within the species of R. philipinarum, the genetic similarities ranged from 0.196 to 0.259. The populations from Hadong and Ulsan showed the highest similarity. The survival rates of the populations from Hadong $(69.4\%)$ and Ulsan $(63.8\%)$ were higher than that from Kochang $(41.7\%)$ 13-months after transplantation. From the RAPD analysis, it could be used as one of the primary criterion in determining which shellfish populations among various seed-production sites tend to be genetically similar and more adaptable and transplantable to a farming site.