Inheritance of the general shell color in the scallop Argopecten purpuratus (Bivalvia: Pectinidae).

Although some external coloration and pigmentation patterns in molluscan shells may be attributable to environmental factors, most variation in these phenotypic characters depends on uncomplicated genetic mechanisms. Genetic research on inheritance of color variations in the north-Chilean scallop (Argopecten purpuratus) has now been expanded to analyze color segregation in juvenile scallops produced under controlled conditions employing self- and cross-fertilization. Calculations from the results were used for comparison with different numerical models based on Mendelian inheritance, and results were also obtained on the inheritance of a dorsoventral white line often observed on the left (upper) valve in this species. The results confirmed the hereditary basis for color variation in the shell of this scallop, suggesting a simple, dominant model of epistasis to explain the distribution of the different color variants observed (purple, brown, orange, yellow, and white). The presence of the white line may be controlled by a recessive allele with simple Mendelian traits on a locus distinct from those that control color variation.