DNA Evidence Suggests Bait Worm Is Invasive in South Africa

A new genetics study in Ecology and Evolution suggests South Africa’s “bait worm” Diopatra aciculata is likely invasive, with Australia as its probable native source. Researchers used samples from Australia (17, from a captive bait farm in New South Wales), South Africa (180 from the Knysna, Keurbooms and Swartkops estuaries), and Egypt (7). They applied a dual-marker approach: mitochondrial mtCOI sequencing via Sanger methods and genome-wide ddRAD SNPs. The team reports the mtCOI results show a monophyletic clade distinct from other species, supporting the origin question—though the findings are described as compelling, not conclusive.