Hermida, MiguelRobledo, DiegoDiaz, SeilaCostas, DamiánBruzos, Alicia L.Blanco, AndrésGómez Pardo, María BelénMartínez Portela, Paulino2024-02-052024-02-052022-10-10Hermida, M., Robledo, D., Díaz, S. et al. The first high-density genetic map of common cockle (Cerastoderma edule) reveals a major QTL controlling shell color variation. Sci Rep 12, 16971 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-21214-3http://hdl.handle.net/10347/32323Shell color shows broad variation within mollusc species and despite information on the genetic pathways involved in shell construction and color has recently increased, more studies are needed to understand its genetic architecture. The common cockle (Cerastoderma edule) is a valuable species from ecological and commercial perspectives which shows important variation in shell color across Northeast Atlantic. In this study, we constructed a high-density genetic map, as a tool for screening common cockle genome, which was applied to ascertain the genetic basis of color variation in the species. The consensus genetic map comprised 19 linkage groups (LGs) in accordance with the cockle karyotype (2n = 38) and spanned 1073 cM, including 730 markers per LG and an inter-marker distance of 0.13 cM. Five full-sib families showing segregation for several color-associated traits were used for a genome-wide association study and a major QTL on chromosome 13 associated to different color-traits was detected. Mining on this genomic region revealed several candidate genes related to shell construction and color. A genomic region previously reported associated with divergent selection in cockle distribution overlapped with this QTL suggesting its putative role on adaptation.engThis article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/Cerastoderma eduleCommon cockleGenetic mapShell colorCommon cockle genomejournal article10.1038/s41598-022-21214-32045-2322open access