Objective: To explore the genetic diversity among populations of Oncomelania hupensis.
Methods: Amplified fragment length polymorphism method was used to amplify the genomic DNA pools of twenty five snail populations from ten provinces, and the genetic diversities among these snail populations were analyzed.
Results: The coefficient rates of similarity (GS(DICE)) among twenty five snail populations were ranged was from 0.694 to 0.831 while Nei's unbiased genetic identity was from 0.635 to 0.799. Genetic distance D from 0.169 to 0.306, and Nei's unbiased genetic distance from 0.225 to 0.452. Genetic variation among smooth-shell snail populations was higher than that of ribbed shell snail populations. Twenty five snail populations were divided into three groups: group A including smooth-shell snail from Fuqing of Fujian province and Yizhou of Guangxi province while group B consisted of smooth-shell snail from Dali of Yunnan province and Xichang, Puge, Danleng, Pujiang, Guanghan of Sichuan. Group C was composed of other seventeen snail populations from the Yangtze River drainage below the Three Gorges.
Conclusion: Big genetic variation was found among these populations of Oncomelania hupensis. The clustering result of snail populations in genomic level was consistent basically with geographical distribution.