The intragenomic variability of 28S rRNA of the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha)

In this study we examined the 28S rRNA polymorphism of Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas, 1771) from native and invasive populations. We discovered of three (A, B, and C) nonorthologous 28S rRNA genotypes of D. polymorpha. The identified sequences of 28S rRNA of types A and B had pairwise distance 8.3%, A and C – 11.6%, B and C – 4.5%. The 28S rRNA sequences of D. polymorpha type A were distances to the neighboring taxon, that is, D. rostriformis bugensis (Andrusov, 1897), in 2.7%, D. polymorpha type B is distances from D. presbensis Kobelt, 1915, D. blanci (Westerlund, 1890) – 2.6%, and 2.7% respectively. The observed distances between the identified sequences of the 28S rRNA may indicate hybridization between D. polymorpha and another species of the genus Dreissena.