Animals and viruses have constantly been co-evolving under natural circumstances and pandemic like situations. They harbour harmful viruses which can spread easily. In the recent times we have seen pandemic like situations being created as a result of the spread of deadly and fatal viruses. Coronaviruses (CoVs) are one of the wellrecognized groups of viruses. There are four known genera of Coronavirus family namely, alpha (α), beta (β), gamma (γ), and delta (δ). Animals have been infected with CoVs belonging to all four genera. In the last few decades the world has witnessed an emergence of severe acute respiratory syndromes which had created a pandemic like situation such as SARS CoV, MERS-CoV. We are currently in another pandemic like situation created due to the uncontrolled spread of a similar coronavirus namely SARSCoV-2. These findings are based on a small number of animals and do not indicate whether animals can transmit disease to humans. Several mammals, including cats, dogs, bank voles, ferrets, fruit bats, hamsters, mink, pigs, rabbits, racoon dogs, and white-tailed deer, have been found to be infected naturally by the virus. Certain laboratory discoveries revealed that animals such as cats, ferrets, fruit bats, hamsters, racoon dogs, and white-tailed deer can spread the illness to other animals of the same species. This review article gives insights on the current knowledge about SARS-CoV-2 infection and development in animals on the farm and in domestic community and their impact on society.
Determination of species from wildlife specimens is one of the prime goals of forensic laboratories analyzing samples involved in wildlife crimes. The conviction rate in wildlife crimes is often low due to a lack of evidential support in identification of the species involved in crime. When species identification by application of morphological techniques fails due to sample autolysis or lack of anatomical markers in wildlife specimens, DNA analysis provides the vital, foolproof cue. Sequences generated from mitochondrial DNA regions are used to determine the species by matching against a known reference sequence, either using the global GenBank database or using references created locally. The present study employed species identification by DNA analysis using wildlife samples received from the Forest Department across Tamil Nadu, India. The study demonstrates the utility of partial Cytb and 12S rRNAgenes for determination of species from 18 samples without recognizable morphological features, including tissue, hair and blood. The species of the collected specimens were correctly identified by sequence similarity search with 99 to 100% match and taxonomic classification using phylogenetic tree reconstruction. Of the 18 samples analyzed, accurate species identification using 12S rRNA gene was possible for all the samples, while Cytbgene-based identification was successful for 16 samples. Sequences generated from the study could also serve as a local genetic databank for the State Forest Department to match against sequences from wildlife forensic samples referred to the Institute for ascertaining species involved in wildlife trade. The sequences will also be useful to bridge gaps in genetic data on species native to Tamil Nadu.
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