Characterization of tri- and tetranucleotide microsatellite loci in the invasive mollusc Dreissena bugensis

The quagga mussel, Dreissena bugensis, is native to the Dneiper River drainage system in the Ukraine. In 1989, D. bugensis was identified in eastern Lake Erie, Canada and it rapidly spread through the lower Laurentian Great Lakes and St Lawrence River. It is hypothesized that D. bugensis was introduced to North America following transoceanic ballast water transport of quagga mussel individuals. A recent allozyme study failed to distinguish any significant population-level structuring of D. bugensis in the Laurentian Great Lakes. The development of highly variable microsatellite markers will provide a powerful new tool for the investigation of quagga mussel populations and may help clarify patterns of colonization and subsequent diffusion that have characterized the rapid spread of dreissenid mussels in North America. In this study, we describe the identification of six highly polymorphic tri- and tetranucleotide microsatellite markers in D. bugensis which can be accurately scored using a silver-staining protocol.