Heritabilities and genetic correlation of shell thickness and shell length growth in a mussel, Mytilus chilensis (Bivalvia:Mytilidae)

Shell thickness in mollusks is generally considered adaptive because of their effects on fitness. However, little is known about the genetic basis of shell thickness. This is important, because the response to selection and the subsequent adaptive microevolution of a trait, such as thickness is only possible when that trait exhibits additive genetic variation. Here, we estimated the narrow-sense heritability (h²: ratio between additive genetic variance and phenotypic variance) for the traits ‘shell thickness’ and ‘shell length growth’ in a 34-month-old cohort of the mussel Mytilus chilensis obtained by using a half-full sib design and grown in the field. Also, phenotypic and genetic correlations were estimated between both traits. We found that h² showed significant values for shell thickness (0.294 ± 0.194) and length (0.731 ± 0.379). The phenotypic correlation between both traits was positive and significant; however, the genetic correlation between these traits was not. These results suggest both traits can evolve adaptively by selection, but because these traits did not show genetic correlation, it is possible that selection pressure affecting one trait may not affect the other.