Data from: Population genetic structure and demographic history of Atrina pectinata based on mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite markers

The pen shell, Atrina pectinata, is one of the commercial bivalves in East
Asia and thought to be recently affected by anthropogenic pressure
(habitat destruction and/or fishing pressure). Information on its
population genetic structure is crucial for the conservation of A.
pectinata. Considering its long pelagic larval duration and iteroparity
with high fecundity, the genetic structure for A. pectinata could be
expected to be weak at a fine scale. However, the unusual oceanography in
the coasts of China and Korea suggests potential for restricted dispersal
of pelagic larvae and geographical differentiation. In addition,
environmental changes associated with Pleistocene sea level fluctuations
on the East China Sea continental shelf may also have strongly influenced
historical population demography and genetic diversity of marine
organisms. Here, partial sequences of the mitochondrial Cytochrome c
oxidase subunit I (COI) gene and seven microsatellite loci were used to
estimate population genetic structure and demographic history of seven
samples from Northern China coast and one sample from North Korea coast.
Despite high levels of genetic diversity within samples, there was no
genetic differentiation among samples from Northern China coast and low
but significant genetic differentiation between some of the Chinese
samples and the North Korean sample. A late Pleistocene population
expansion, probably after the Last Glacial Maximum, was also demonstrated
for A. pectinata samples. No recent genetic bottleneck was detected in any
of the eight samples. We concluded that both historical recolonization
(through population range expansion and demographic expansion in the late
Pleistocene) and current gene flow (through larval dispersal) were
responsible for the weak level of genetic structure detected in A.
pectinata.