World Congress of Malacology Antwerp ... - Unitas Malacologica

Conus (cone snails) is an unusually species-rich genus of predatory and venomous tropical marine
gastropods. Comparative analysis on the anatomy of selected Philippine cone snails with different
feeding types was done to elucidate the usefulness of anatomical characters in inferring phylogenetic
relationships within this genus. Standard dissection supplemented with serial histological sections
was used to obtain anatomical data sets from six species of Conus (C. imperialis, C. ebraeus, C.
miles, C. textile, C. magus, and C. striatus) and two outgroups (Lophiotoma acuta and L. abreviata).
Characters were taken from the adult shell, operculum, osphradium, ctenidium, male reproductive
system, venom apparatus including the salivary gland, and radula. A consensus tree of selected
Conus species was produced based on 2 most parsimonious trees generated by PAUP* 4.0 (Swofford
1998) from initial data consisting of 40 morphological characters with 95 character states.
Preliminary analysis indicates that C. ebraeus has more characters shared with the outgroup. The tree
has a branching pattern that supports the grouping of Conus into different feeding types with 97%
bootstrap support based on 1000 replicates.
Application of a 16S rDNA barcode to diagnose pest Arion species in the U.S.A.
Barr, Norman 1 ; Cook, Amanda 1 ; Elder, Peggy 2 , Molongoski, John 2 , Prasher, Douglas 2 ;
Robinson, David 3
1. USDA-APHIS-PPQ, Center for Plant Health Science and Technology (CPHST), Pest Detection
Diagnostics and Management Laboratory, Edinburg, TX 78541, USA,
Email: Norman.B.Barr@aphis.usda.gov
2. USDA-APHIS-PPQ, CPHST, Pest Survey Detection and Exclusion Laboratory, Otis, MA 02542,
USA,
Email: John.J.Molongoski@aphis.usda.gov
3. USDA-APHIS-PPQ, Department of Malacology, Academy of Natural Sciences, 1900 Benjamin
Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19130, USA,
Email: robinson@acnatsci.org
The utility of a DNA barcode using the ribosomal 16S gene is examined for Arion species by
characterizing genetic variation within and between taxa. Comparison of variation within Arion DNA
sequences indicates that 16S is as variable as the commonly used barcode region of cytochrome
oxidase I. Analytical sensitivity (measured by PCR success), however, was greater for the 16S
marker. Based on 16S variation, a reference database comprising over 270 DNA sequences and over
20 species was generated and used to analyze query sequences from slugs collected within the United
States or intercepted at U.S. ports of entry. As expected, the total number of “positive” taxonomic
identifications varied when different barcode interpretive rules were applied and the success of the
barcode (i.e. proportion of identifications) was greater when queried slugs were from North America.
The relevance of this barcode tool to pest quarantine programs and aspects of its implementation are
discussed.
2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCCD) affects shell mineralization of the freshwater
bivalve Anodonta cygnea L.
Barrias, Cláudia 1 ; Silva, Luís 1 ; Lemos, Carolina 1 ; Oliveira, Eduardo 1 ; Rebelo da Costa,
Augusta 1,2
1. Laboratório de Fisiologia dos Gâmetas e Transporte (CECA-UP), Vairão/Portugal
Email: ladybarrias@hotmail.com; carolina.c.lemos@sapo.pt; eduardoftoliveira@gmail.com;
luis_silva519@hotmail.com
2. Laboratório de Fisiologia/ Dpt. Imuno-Fisiologia e Farmacologia, (ICBAS-UP), Porto, Portugal
Email: a.rebelo@netcabo.pt
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