Animal Molecular Breeding 2015, Vol. 5, No. 1, 1-8
1
Research Article Open Access
Molecular characterization of giant African land snails using polymerase chain
reaction - random amplified polymorphic DNA fingerprinting
Mitsheal Owoche Odey
1
, Peter O. Aikpokpodion
1,2
, Ebiamadon Andi Brisibe
1,3
1. Department of Genetics & Biotechnology, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria
2. Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development, Area 11 Garki, Abuja, Nigeria
3. Department of Biological Sciences, Niger Delta University, Amassoma, P.M.B. 71, Yenagoa, Nigeria
Corresponding author email
Animal Molecular Breeding, 2015, Vol.5, No.1 doi: 10.5376/amb.2015.05.0001
Received: 20 Feb., 2015
Accepted: 23 Apr., 2015
Published: 30 Apr., 2015
© 2015
Odey et al., This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use,
distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Preferred citation for this article:
Odey et al., 2015, Molecular characterization of giant African land snails using polymerase chain reaction - random amplified polymorphic DNA fingerprinting,
Animal Molecular Breeding, Vol.5, No.1, 1-8
(doi
Abstract
Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers were used to characterize the genetic diversity and relatedness
among different populations of
Archachatina marginata,
a highly relished source of protein in West Africa. Sixteen (16) accessions
comprising nine (9) black and seven (7) albino-bodied forms were collected randomly from three different locations in Nigeria and
genetic differentiation and morphometric studies conducted. In the genetic analysis, a total of 84 reproducible bands were produced
using three (3) oligonucleotide primers. Of these, 79 amplified bands (94.04%) were found to be polymorphic with an average of 28
bands per primer while the remaining 5 were monomorphic loci. Similarly, an analysis of morphological traits resulted in the division of
the entire population into 2 major groups based on the geographical distribution that generally reflected expected trends between the
genotypes. Among all the morphometric characters, the highest mean value was observed in shell spire (23.38) while the lowest mean
value was observed in stripes on the blossom end (1.31). In conclusion, average linkage cluster analysis revealed a high level of genetic
diversity and heterogeneity among the snail accessions.
Keywords
Archachatina marginata
; Genetic variation; Heterogeneity; RAPDs
Introduction
Archachatina marginata,
commonly known as the
giant African land snail, appears to be the largest
terrestrial gastropod found anywhere in the world with
a relatively long, conical shell. Commonly ubiquitous
in eastern Africa (Mead, 1961), it may have originated
from the coastal areas of Kenya and Tanzania, from
where it may have spread through anthropological
transport to other parts of the continent and is presently
distributed all over sub-Saharan Africa (Raut and
Barker, 2002) with major colonies in West and East
Africa (Venete and Larson, 2004). Apart from Africa,
the giant land snail has been accidentally introduced to
many parts of the world for different purposes
including the preparation of folk medicine and food
(Raut and Barker, 2002). This giant terrestrial snail is
commonly found in areas having tropical climate with
warm, mild year-round temperature and high humidity
(Venete and Larson, 2004). As in other non-native
species,
A. marginata
populations generally increase
dramatically after introductions (Craze and Mauremootoo,
2002), which has caused damage to plants and is,
therefore, considered a significant pest of agricultural
crops in some climes (Smith and Fowler, (2003).
In parts of West Africa, these snails are considered the
best local delicacies and as such are highly prized.
Giant African land snail meat is tender, tasty and highly
nutritious with no cholesterol. Compared to that of
other animals, the meat which is generally low in fat
(0.05 – 0.08%) contains high levels of protein (37 -
51%), iron content (45 - 59mg/kg) and almost all the
essential amino acids required by man (Adeyeye, 1996).
In West African folk medicine, the bluish fluid
obtained when the meat has been removed from the
shell is believed to be good for the development of
infants. It is also believed in some traditional settings
that snail meat contains pharmacological properties of
value in counteracting high blood pressure,
heart-related diseases, hypertension and rheumatism
