Isolation of DNA from small amounts of elephant ivory

Mailand, Celia; Wasser, Samuel K.

doi:10.1038/nprot.2007.318

Cited by 27 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Besides taxonomy and population structure, the other major area in which genetics can contribute to African elephant conservation is in the geographic assignment of ivory samples [20], [21], [22], [23], [24], [26]. Current geographic assignment methods for elephants and ivory that use STRs may sometimes be imprecise or inaccurate (Figure 6) [7], [24], [25], [26].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…DNA has been successfully extracted from ivory [22], [23], while previous studies have shown that STR genotypes can be used to assign ivory to its geographic region of origin [20], [21], [24], [26]. However, previous studies have not attempted to rate each STR locus for its utility in assignment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since ivory is often confiscated in markets far from the locations where elephants are poached, DNA markers have been used to identify the source population of confiscated ivory [20], [21]. Wasser and colleagues have successfully extracted DNA from small amounts of elephant ivory [22], [23], and applied spatial smoothing methods to allele frequencies of STRs in order to assign ivory to its source. Using this approach, they have genotyped tusks of smuggled ivory and assigned them as originating within a particular range country [24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reconciling Apparent Conflicts between Mitochondrial and Nuclear Phylogenies in African Elephants

Ishida

Oleksyk

Georgiadis³

et al. 2011

PLoS ONE

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Conservation strategies for African elephants would be advanced by resolution of conflicting claims that they comprise one, two, three or four taxonomic groups, and by development of genetic markers that establish more incisively the provenance of confiscated ivory. We addressed these related issues by genotyping 555 elephants from across Africa with microsatellite markers, developing a method to identify those loci most effective at geographic assignment of elephants (or their ivory), and conducting novel analyses of continent-wide datasets of mitochondrial DNA. Results showed that nuclear genetic diversity was partitioned into two clusters, corresponding to African forest elephants (99.5% Cluster-1) and African savanna elephants (99.4% Cluster-2). Hybrid individuals were rare. In a comparison of basal forest “F” and savanna “S” mtDNA clade distributions to nuclear DNA partitions, forest elephant nuclear genotypes occurred only in populations in which S clade mtDNA was absent, suggesting that nuclear partitioning corresponds to the presence or absence of S clade mtDNA. We reanalyzed African elephant mtDNA sequences from 81 locales spanning the continent and discovered that S clade mtDNA was completely absent among elephants at all 30 sampled tropical forest locales. The distribution of savanna nuclear DNA and S clade mtDNA corresponded closely to range boundaries traditionally ascribed to the savanna elephant species based on habitat and morphology. Further, a reanalysis of nuclear genetic assignment results suggested that West African elephants do not comprise a distinct third species. Finally, we show that some DNA markers will be more useful than others for determining the geographic origins of illegal ivory. These findings resolve the apparent incongruence between mtDNA and nuclear genetic patterns that has confounded the taxonomy of African elephants, affirm the limitations of using mtDNA patterns to infer elephant systematics or population structure, and strongly support the existence of two elephant species in Africa.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reconciling Apparent Conflicts between Mitochondrial and Nuclear Phylogenies in African Elephants

Ishida

Oleksyk

Georgiadis³

et al. 2011

PLoS ONE

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“…There are several studies demonstrating the isolation and amplification of DNA from the known as well as confiscated ivory (9–12). The most interesting aspect of our work is that this is the first report for the isolation and amplification of DNA from the processed ivory material.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of the Source of Ivory Idol by DNA Analysis*

Gupta

Thangaraj

Singh

2011

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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In this study, we describe a forensic case dealing with the identification of the source of the processed ivory object by DNA analysis. Two pieces of Lord Krishna's idols from a shop were confiscated by an investigating agency of the Indian government and forwarded to us to identify the source of its origin. We succeeded in isolating DNA from both processed ivory idols by using the phenol/chloroform DNA extraction method. The extracted DNA was subjected to PCR amplification using an elephant-specific mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop marker. DNA sequence analysis of the amplified fragment of mtDNA D-loop region confirmed that the idols were consistent with Asian elephant with 99% similarity.

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“…Only a very small amount of ivory powder is required to obtain a successful amplification (such as a tiny scraping that sits under the 20 μL PBS), being beneficial for processed or degraded ivory and also tiny invasive samples . The process of direct PCR required no DNA extraction step, making this protocol cost‐effective and less time consuming, compared to other previous reports . As the process required very little template it is possible to attempt direct‐PCR first and, if this is unsuccessful, then the extraction process can be attempted.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ivory species identification using electrophoresis‐based techniques

et al. 2016

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Despite continuous conservation efforts by national and international organizations, the populations of the three extant elephant species are still dramatically declining due to the illegal trade in ivory leading to the killing of elephants. A requirement to aid investigations and prosecutions is the accurate identification of the elephant species from which the ivory was removed. We report on the development of the first fully validated multiplex PCR-electrophoresis assay for ivory DNA analysis that can be used as a screening or confirmatory test. SNPs from the NADH dehydrogenase 5 and cytochrome b gene loci were identified and used in the development of the assay. The three extant elephant species could be identified based on three peaks/bands. Elephas maximus exhibited two distinct PCR fragments at approximate 129 and 381 bp; Loxodonta cyclotis showed two PCR fragments at 89 and 129 bp; and Loxodonta africana showed a single fragment of 129 bp. The assay correctly identified the elephant species using all 113 ivory and blood samples used in this report. We also report on the high sensitivity and specificity of the assay. All single-blinded samples were correctly classified, which demonstrated the assay's ability to be used for real casework. In addition, the assay could be used in conjunction with the technique of direct amplification. We propose that the test will benefit wildlife forensic laboratories and aid in the transition to the criminal justice system.

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Isolation of DNA from small amounts of elephant ivory

Cited by 27 publications

References 4 publications

Reconciling Apparent Conflicts between Mitochondrial and Nuclear Phylogenies in African Elephants

Reconciling Apparent Conflicts between Mitochondrial and Nuclear Phylogenies in African Elephants

Identification of the Source of Ivory Idol by DNA Analysis*

Ivory species identification using electrophoresis‐based techniques

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