DNA barcoding reveals that the common cupped oyster in Taiwan is the Portuguese oyster Crassostrea angulata (Ostreoida; Ostreidae), not C. gigas.
The Pacific cupped oyster, Crassostrea gigas, is one of the major aquacultural shellfish species that has been introduced to Europe and America from its native source in the West Pacific. In Taiwan, the cultivated cupped oysters along the west coast have been identified as C. gigas for over centuries; however, several molecular phylogenetic studies have cast doubt upon the existence of this species in Taiwan and adjacent waters. Indeed, our analyses of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) sequences from 313 Crassostrea collected from 12 locations along Taiwanese and southern Chinese coastlines confirm that all samples were the Portuguese oyster, C. angulata, rather than C. gigas. Multiple lines of evidence, including haplotypic and nucleotide diversity of the COI gene, demographic history, and population genetics, suggest that Taiwanese C. angulata is unique, probably experienced a sudden population expansion after the Last Glacial Maxima around 20,000 years ago, and has a significantly limited genetic connectivity across the Taiwan Strait. Our study applies an extended sampling and DNA barcoding to confirm the absence of C. gigas in natural and cultivated populations in Taiwan and southern China, where we only found C. angulata. We highlight the importance of conserving the gene pool of the C. angulata population in Taiwan, particularly considering the current threats by large-scale environmental disturbances such as marine pollution, habitat destruction, and climate change.
Fisheries Research Institute, Council of Agriculture, Keelung, 20246, Taiwan.|Department of Environment Biology and Fisheries Science, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, 20224, Taiwan.
Sheng-Tai
ST
Hsiao
Fisheries Research Institute, Council of Agriculture, Keelung, 20246, Taiwan.
Shin-Chang
SC
Chuang
Fisheries Research Institute, Council of Agriculture, Keelung, 20246, Taiwan.
Kao-Sung
KS
Chen
Department of Environment Biology and Fisheries Science, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, 20224, Taiwan.
Ping-Ho
PH
Ho
Fisheries Research Institute, Council of Agriculture, Keelung, 20246, Taiwan.
Chi-Lun
CL
Wu
Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Nangang, Taipei, 11574, Taiwan.|Taiwan International Graduate Program-Biodiversity, Academia Sinica, Nangang, Taipei, 11574, Taiwan.|National Taiwan University, Institute of Oceanography, Taipei 10617, Taiwan.
Chaolun Allen
CA
Chen
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