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GENETIC CHARACTERIZATION OF A BURROWING SHRIMP (NEOTRYPAEA CALIFORNIENSIS)
Citation:
CHAIDEZ, V., A. F. D'ANDREA, B. DUMBAULD, AND T. H. DEWITT. GENETIC CHARACTERIZATION OF A BURROWING SHRIMP (NEOTRYPAEA CALIFORNIENSIS). Presented at Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science, Tampa, FL, October 24 - 29, 2006.
Description:
Ghost shrimp, (Neotypaea californiensis) are burrowers, whose bioturbation and sediment destabilizations have a negative effect on mariculture of the commercially important oyster (Crassostrea gigas). Oyster farmers in Washington and Oregon estuaries have been poisoning these shrimp with the non-specific pesticide, carbaryl since 1963. This study was undertaken to assist in the development of integrated pest management strategies, which will eliminate or minimize the use of carbaryl. The purpose of this study is to determine the source populations of larvae recruiting to estuaries where oysters are raised. This will be accomplished by genetic characterization of N. californiensis in estuaries along the Pacific coast. Our hypothesis is that larvae produced in northward estuaries seed southward estuaries. Burrowing shrimp were collected using a bait pump from estuaries in Washington, Oregon and California during the years 2005 and 2006. Shrimp were stored in 70% ethanol or were frozen. Mitochondrial DNA was extracted using SDS/Proteinase K digestion. PCR amplification of the 718 base pair subunit of cytochrome oxidase I of the mitochondrial DNA was done using primers designed in our lab. The DNA was sequenced using an ABI-310 capillary sequencer. Sequences were aligned using BioEdit®. Arlequin® software was used to align, compare and analyze sequences and to construct a phylogenetic tree. Sequencing analysis of all samples will be completed by August 10th. Preliminary results support our hypothesis that larvae produced in northward estuaries seed southward estuaries. This research was supported by NSF Grant # DBI-0354149.