Isolation of polymorphic microsatellite markers in Aporrectodea icterica (Savigny 1826)

Earthworms play a major role in soil dynamics acting as modifiers of properties and soil characteristics. Although population genetics is a promising approach to get a better understanding of their ecology, the use of molecular tools in earthworm studies is still scarce. Here, we developed and analyzed seven microsatellite loci for Aporrectodea icterica, a common endogeic species of most temperate natural and agricultural soils, with the aim to investigate its dispersal capacity in further researches. Although sequences of a fragment of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) showed the existence of two mitochondrial lineages within the species, with a mean divergence between them of 10%, microsatellite data proved that these two COI lineages are interbreeding and form part of a single species. ► 7 polymorphic microsatellites were developed for the earthworm Aporrectodea icterica. ► COI-based DNA barcodes revealed 2 highly divergent lineages in this species. ► Nuclear data showed that lineages are interbreeding and form part of a sole species.