DNA Barcoding of Marine Bivalve Meretrix (Karibuyo) in Northern Philippines

Abstract

The Meretrix Karibuyo marine bivalve mollusc is an important economic mollusc species found primarily in the coastal regions of Northern Cagayan, Philippines. This study specifically aimedto identify specific species of the bivalve Meretrix Karibuyo collected using morphologicalidentification, identify bivalve species collected using mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit (COI)gene, compare DNA sequences to sequences available in GenBank using the BOLD search and compare identified bivalve species identified using morphological and molecularmethods. The study is descriptive and includes methods for sample collection and preservation, DNA extraction, PCR amplification, gel electrophoresis, gene sequencing, and software and program analysis of DNA samples. The collection of samples was carried out in Northern Cagayan, specifically in the towns of Aparri, Buguey, and Sta. Teresita. Teresita. Identification of the species was based on morphology. NAsequences from bivalve samples were compared to available sequences in GenBank and BOLD Systems. A Neighbor-Joining (NJ) tree was built using 23 Meretrix sp. sequences from GenBank as further confirmation of specimen identity, using the program MEGA X. The selected outgroup is a PetricolalapicidaCOI sequence from Genbank. P. lapicida which belongs to the same family (Veneridae) as Meretrix sp. The resulting 658 base pair (bp) sequence was matched using the identification tool of the Barcode of Life Database (BOLD). This study illustrated how the combination of morphological and DNA taxonomic analysis can help in the monitoring of commercially available marine Meretrix specie Karibuyo, which were all identified as Meretrix lyrata.