title: Restricted genetic variation in populations of Achatina (Lissachatina) fulica outside of East Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands points to the Indian Ocean Islands as the earliest known common source.
abstract: The Giant African Land Snail, Achatina ( =  Lissachatina) fulica Bowdich, 1822, is a tropical crop pest species with a widespread distribution across East Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Pacific, the Caribbean, and North and South America. Its current distribution is attributed primarily to the introduction of the snail to new areas by Man within the last 200 years. This study determined the extent of genetic diversity in global A. fulica populations using the mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA gene. A total of 560 individuals were evaluated from 39 global populations obtained from 26 territories. Results reveal 18 distinct A. fulica haplotypes; 14 are found in East Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, but only two haplotypes from the Indian Ocean islands emerged from this region, the C haplotype, now distributed across the tropics, and the D haplotype in Ecuador and Bolivia. Haplotype E from the Philippines, F from New Caledonia and Barbados, O from India and Q from Ecuador are variants of the emergent C haplotype. For the non-native populations, the lack of genetic variation points to founder effects due to the lack of multiple introductions from the native range. Our current data could only point with certainty to the Indian Ocean islands as the earliest known common source of A. fulica across the globe, which necessitates further sampling in East Africa to determine the source populations of the emergent haplotypes.
authors.affiliation: School of Biology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, United Kingdom; DNA Barcoding Laboratory, Institute of Biology, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines.
authors.forename: Ian Kendrich C
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Fontanilla
authors.affiliation: DNA Barcoding Laboratory, Institute of Biology, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines.
authors.forename: Inna Mikaella P
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Sta Maria
authors.affiliation: DNA Barcoding Laboratory, Institute of Biology, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines.
authors.forename: James Rainier M
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, Modern College, Shivajinagar, Pune, India.
authors.forename: Hemant
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ghate
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Fred
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Naggs
authors.affiliation: School of Biology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Christopher M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Wade
mesh_terms: D000351:Africa, Eastern; D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D049851:Gastropoda / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D005819:Genetic Markers / Q000235:genetics; D014644:Genetic Variation; D007195:Indian Ocean Islands; D058974:Phylogeography; D012313:RNA / Q000235:genetics; D000077278:RNA, Mitochondrial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers; D000077278:RNA, Mitochondrial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012313:RNA