Tests for possible relationships between genetic variability and levels of parasitism by Perkinsus marinus in Crassostrea virginica

The populations of American oysters (Crassostrea virginica ) were sampled from Biloxi Bay, Mississippi westward to Galveston Bay, Texas. Adductor muscle tissue was used to determine level of infection of Perkinsus marinus , and to assess allelic variation using standard starch gel electrophoresis. Infection levels tended to be lower in oyster that exhibited higher levels of heterozygosity, yet the relationship was not statistically significant at the p less than or equal to 0.05 level