RESULTS
3.1. PHASE 1 -
DEFINITION OF TARGET TAXA AND ESTABLISHMENT OF REFERENCE DATABASES
Following a review of WoRMS
and the Irish Biodiversity Data Centre databases, a total of 151 bivalve
and 147 decapod species were determined to occur in Irish waters
(supplementary Table S2 ). Among these species were 24 selected
target species as well as 48 bivalve and 18 decapod closely related
off-target species (i.e. same Order). The most relevant and appropriate
gene commonly targeted for molecular species identification of these
taxa was identified as the mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) with
some studies targeting the 16S rRNA gene and the PAPM gene (nuclear) .
The COI gene was selected as the main gene of interest for this study as
it is more widely studied and better represented via BOLD with more
sequences present. While relevant DNA sequence data was available on
public databases for all target species, no genetic data were available
for 10/48 bivalve and 5/18 decapod species
(supplementary Table
S2 ). Of the gathered tissue material, barcoding and relevant DNA
sequence data were obtained from 49 samples (encompassing 15 distinct
species) (88% successful amplification/sequencing)
(supplementary Table S3 ). Tissue DNA belonging toAequipecten opercularis (queen scallop) and Pecten maximus(king scallop) did not yield satisfactory results. As expected,Mytilus edulis, Mytilus trossulus and Mytilus
galloprovincialis were not resolved to the species level using the COI
gene. Overall, once previously available and newly generated DNA
sequences were included, the dedicated reference database achieved
coverage of 80% (for bivalves) and 70% (for decapods) of target
species (supplementary Table S2 ).