Marine bivalves show among the greatest allozyme diversity ever reported in Eukaryotes, putting them historically at the heart of the neutralist-selectionist controversy on the maintenance of genetic variation. Although it is now acknowledged that this high diversity is most probably a simple consequence of a large population size, convincing support for this explanation would require a rigorou...

BACKGROUND Rho GTPases are important members of the Ras superfamily, which represents the largest signaling protein family in eukaryotes, and function as key molecular switches in converting and amplifying external signals into cellular responses. Although numerous analyses of Rho family genes have been reported, including their functions and evolution, a systematic analysis of this family has ...

BACKGROUND Bivalves are among the oldest classes of invertebrates, and they exhibit diverse types of sexual patterning. However, our current understanding of the mechanisms of sex determination and differentiation in bivalves remains very limited. The retinoid X receptors (RXRs), which are members of the nuclear receptor family, are involved in sex differentiation in many organisms. RESULTS I...

In April, 1992, paralytic toxicity substantially exceeding the quarantine limit of 4MU/g edible part as paralytic shellfish poison (PSP) was detected in cultured oyster Crassostrea gigas, mussel Mytilus edulis and short-necked clam Tapes (Amygdala) japonica from Hiroshima Bay, Hiroshima Prefecture concomitantly with the appearance of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense. The toxicitie...

The population development of the 1998 year class of the bivalve Macoma balthica was studied by repeated sampling of a tidal flat area in the eastern Dutch Wadden Sea from May 1998 to August 2000. The juveniles migrated twice, once in mid-1998 from their primary settlement locations in the low sandy intertidal to the nursery in the high intertidal (spring migration, 25% of all juvenile M. balth...

The aim of this study was to assess the invasion risk of freshwater habitats and determine the environmental variables that are most favorable for the establishment of alien amphipods, isopods, gastropods, and bivalves. A total of 981 sites located in streams and rivers in Germany. Therefore we analyzed presence-absence data of alien and indigenous amphipods, isopods, gastropods, and bivalves f...

The long history of both zoological and palaeontological research on the bivalves has revealed a startling degree of convergence and parallel evolution which has hampered the interpretation of their evolutionary history. However new discoveries and developments make it timely for a new concerted effort to integrate zoological and palaeontological techniques to improve comprehension of the evolu...

The fine scale vertical distribution of Dinophysis spp. and Protoceratium reticulatum (potential producers of lipophilic shellfish toxins, LSTs) and its relation with LSTs in shellfish was studied in Reloncavı́ fjord, a strongly stratified system in Southern Chile. Samples were taken over two years from late spring to early autumn (2007–2008 period) and from early spring to late summer (2008–200...