A DNA probe for identification of larvae of the commercial surfclam (Spisula solidissima).

A molecular DNA probe was developed for identification of larvae of the commercial surfclam Spisula solidissima (family Mactridae), to distinguish early-stage veligers from larvae of other common bivalve species in a study of surfclam settlement and recruitment on the New Jersey continental shelf. For discrimination of S. solidissima from other common bivalve species at the study site (almost all of which belong to different families), an oligonucleotide designed from the nucleotide sequence of the 18S ribosomal RNA gene provides a useful and sensitive family-specific probe and primer. For discrimination between S. solidissima and Mulinia lateralis (both members of Mactridae), the 18S rRNA gene was examined by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. A combination of the DNA probe and RFLP analysis provides a positive identification of S. solidissima and M. lateralis larvae in coastal plankton samples.