Abstract

Gastropod mollusks are part of the principal marine resources cultivated and commercialized in Chile. There are native Chilean species such as loco (Concholepas concholepas), locate (Thais chocolata), trumulco snail (Chorus giganteus), keyhole limpets (Fissurella spp.), tegula snail (Tegula atra) as well as exotic species such as red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) and Japanese abalone (Haliotis discus hannai). Despite their importance as marine resources, molecular genetic studies establishing phylogenetic relationships and estimating population genetic parameters are scarce. The aim of this study is to establish a molecular approach among the main commercial gastropod species in Chile. The mitochondrial genes 16S rRNA and COI, and the nuclear ribosomal region ITS1-5.8SrDNA-ITS2 were amplified by PCR and sequencing. Alignment analysis was used to determine systematic relationships at the specific level for the species studied. The results revealed that 7 species are grouped in 4 genetically distinct families (Haliotidae, Trochidae, Muricidae and Fissurellidae). In comparison with COI sequencing, 16S rRNA and ITS1-5.8SrDNA-ITS2 sequencing were relatively more conserved with a divergence percentage for 16S rDNA and ITS1-5.8SrDNA-ITS2 of 1.2% and 1.8%, respectively, contrasting with the value of 10% obtained for COI in abalone.