New Polymorphic Microsatellite Loci for the Zebra Mussel Dreissena Polymorpha (Pallas, 1771), a Common Bioindicator (Report‪)‬

ABSTRACT To investigate the influence of environmental pollution on the population genetics of Dreissena polymorpha, we developed five new polymorphic microsatellite loci for the zebra mussel. This mussel is widely distributed and is a common bioindicator in the field of ecotoxicology. The amplification of the microsatellite loci was tested on a single population of 24 individuals. In this population, the number of alleles per locus ranged from 3-14, and the observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.545-0.909 (mean, 0.772). All loci followed Hardy-Weinberg expectations, suggesting no evidence for null alleles. There was no significant genetic linkage disequilibrium, neither between the aforementioned loci nor between aforementioned loci and five previously published microsatellites for this species. All loci are valuable to investigate the influence of anthropogenic stressors on the bioindicator Dreissena polymorpha, and therefore on freshwater ecosystems in general. KEY WORDS: microsatellite, Dreissena polymorpha, population genetics, ecotoxicology