Phylogenetic Analysis of Indian Freshwater Pond Mussels Lamellidens corrianus and L. phenchooganjensis (Bivalvia: Unionidae) from the Upper Brahmaputra Basin of Assam, India

Abstract

To update the present knowledge of freshwater molluscs, a phylogenetic analysis of two species of Indian pond mussels was carried out using amplified sequence of 18S rRNA gene. From the phylogenetic study of 18S rRNA gene sequencing, it was found that the Lamellidenscorrianus and L. phenchooganjensis are phylogenetically closely related to 18S rRNA gene sequences of other freshwater bivalve mussels belonging to the family Unionidae of order Unionida. Like other members of the Unionidae family, the two Lamellidensspp. showed monophyletic evolutionary lineage and shared a common ancestor. The result obtained from the phylogenetic analysis of Lamellidensspp. was significant as the 18S rRNA gene sequence of L. phenchooganjensis was submitted for the first time in the global nucleotide database (Genbank, NCBI). Similarly, the 18S rRNA gene sequence of L. corrianuswas also submitted to the database for the first time from this region having unique ecological niche. Therefore, the present study on phylogenetic analysis is a contribution to the global database of 18S rRNA gene sequences of freshwater mollusc, particularly from this part of the region.