Molecular Confirmation of Lissachatina fulica from Kanwar Lake Using DNA Barcoding: A Ramsar Wetland in Bihar, India
V. M. Sathish Kumar *
Zoological Survey of India, Gangetic Plains Regional Centre, Patna-800026, Bihar, India.
Pragya Shree
Zoological Survey of India, Gangetic Plains Regional Centre, Patna-800026, Bihar, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The giant African land snail Lissachatina fulica is one of the most invasive land snails in the world, with far-reaching ecological, agricultural as well as human health effects. It originated in the East African region and has dispersed within the tropical and subtropical parts of the world due to human mediated dispersal. It has taken advantage of environmental factors to establish and displace ecosystems in the areas where it invades due to its wide host range, high reproductive output and flexibility. Morphology based identification on a single specimen collected from Kanwar Lake, Begusarai, Bihar on 2nd March 2025 along with mitochondrial markers like COI (NCBI Accession No: PX716854.1, 584 bp) have been used in genetic studies to give knowledge on identity confirmation and invasion by data deposition in the NCBI GenBank through barcoding. This article offers first confirmed record of L. fulica, its DNA barcoding based identity confirmation in Kanwar Lake, a Ramsar Wetland, Bihar.
Keywords: Lissachatina fulica, African Snail, morphology, invasive species, COI, DNA barcoding, Kanwar lake, ramsar wetland