Natural distribution of pure and hybrid Mytilus sp. along the south Mediterranean and North-east Atlantic coasts and sensitivity of D-larvae stages to temperature increases and metal pollution.

The distribution of the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis extends more and more northwards in the Atlantic. Crossings are frequently observed with the blue mussel Mytilus edulis along the French and English coasts. The aim of this study is firstlyto identify the co-presence of M. galloprovincialis, M. edulis, and their hybrids in different sites of the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts, and to provide insights for the thermal tolerance and toxicant susceptibility of Mytilus edulis, Mytilus galloprovincialis and their hybrids. Mussels were collected from the shore at 20 sampling sitesin Europe and Tunisia and identified using Me 15/16 primers targeting the adhesive protein gene sequence. Samples were screened for the presence of Mytilus edulis, Mytilus galloprovincialis, and hybrids alleles using PCR. To get more information on hybrids sensitivities to temperature and metals, freshly fertilized eggs of the two species and their hybrids were reared at four temperatures 18, 20, 22, and 24 °C and exposed to concentrations of Cu, Ag, and a mixture of both metals. Arrests of development and malformations were recorded after 48 h of exposure. The genotypic identification of the two species on 20 sites of the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts carried out during this study confirms the presence of pure and hybrid species of mussel. Our results highlighted that hybrid larvae from a female of M. galloprovincialis are significantly more tolerant to temperature increases than pure larvae of M. galloprovincialis and pure and hybrid larvae of M. edulis. No significant interspecies-differences of sensitivity were noted for metal exposure alone. However, a co-exposure of larvae to both metal and high temperature highlighted the higher tolerance of hybrid larvae from a female of M. galloprovincialis to both stresses. The overall results could allow the prediction of the future evolution of mussel populations facing environmental changes.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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