Genetic Diversity Analysis of the Natural Populations of Mediterra-nean Mussels [Mytilus galloprovincialis (Lmk.)] in Agadir Bay: Assess-ment of the Molecular Polymorphism and Environmental Impact

Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis Lmk) has a great environmental and economic importance for Morocco. This work studies the genetic structure and impact of chemical pollution on three different marine populations of Mytilus galloprovincialis that live within Agadir bay. Three collections were made at two clean sites (Cape Ghir and Cape Aglou) and at an impacted site exposed to intense boating and industrial activities (Anza). A 300-bp portion of the mitochondrial DNA coding-region Cytochrome C Oxidase subunit 1 (COI) was studied by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing reactions to assess and evaluate amounts of polymorphism in each site. Genetic analysis using COI for 64 individuals showed no significant differentiation between the three subpopulations. AMOVA demonstrated that only 2.83% of variation exists between populations. Besides the genetic evidence presented herein, mussel’s adaptation mechanisms and strategies to marine pollution are also discussed.