| Abstract: | Variation in and amplification conditions for nine polymorphic microsatellite loci identified from Lymnaea stagnalis, a hermaphroditic pulmonate snail, are described. Eight populations from central Finland were studied, which varied in terms of both observed polymorphism and heterozygosity. The number of alleles at each locus is moderate (two to seven), except for one exceptional locus having 16 alleles, and for which null alleles are possible. There is no evidence for genotypic disequilibrium in the populations for all pairs of loci. Heterozygosity levels are indicative of outcrossing in L. stagnalis, whose mating system will be characterized further using these markers. |
