Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs) in the Analysis of Genetic Diversity Between two Oliva Species in Lian, Batangas

Abstract

Oliva elegans and O. reticulata are two of the most common Oliva species found in Batangas. Since marked morphological differences may sometimes be confusing in classifying these species, their genetic diversity may serve as an alternative criterion. Morphometric and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analyses were employed to determine the genetic variation between the two species. The optimized PCR conditions of Chua and Panlilio (2002) were reproducible for RAPD analysis of O. elegans and O. reticulata. The calculated morphometric distance between the two species using SPSS version 11.01 was 0.001 while the genetic distance was 0.4191 as calculated by Popgene version 1.32. The dendrogram based on morphometric data clustered the two species closer while the dendrogram based on RAPD profiles distantly clustered the two Oliva species. Results showed that there is significant genetic separation between them despite their morphological similarity.