Wildlife forensics using mitochondrial DNA sequences: Species identification based on hairs collected in the field and confiscated tanned Felidae leathers

Jun, Jumin; Han, Sang Hoon; Jeong, Tae-Jin; Park, Hoon Cheol; Lee, Byoung-Yoon; Kwak, Myounghai

doi:10.1007/s13258-011-0080-7

Cited by 21 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Currently, a universal fragment of genetic information is constantly being sought to use in many areas, e.g. poaching [18,41,42], illicit tra cking of endangered species [18,[41][42][43], protection of endangered animal species [44], or determination of meat origin (for identi cation purposes) [43,45]. Anna Ramon -Laca et al [14], showed differentiation of species can be achieved by using a species-speci c primer that ampli es dissimilar length fragments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Universal Fragment of mtDNA for Cervidae and Other Ungulate Species Identification

Filip

Strzała²,

Stępień

et al. 2020

Preprint

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ObjectiveThe abundance of literature and many studies aimed at the identification of free-living animal species has helped to identify specific nucleotide marker sequences. In many cases, the best marker to distinguish species is the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) or one of its fragments. In molecular analyses of Cervidae, biological material such as blood or muscle is easily obtained, as nearly all of these species are gaming animals.ResultsIn our research, we present the case study of successful species identification based on degraded samples of bone, with the use of short mtDNA fragments. We obtained a partial sequence of the mitochondrial cytochrome b (Cytb) gene for Capreolus capreolus, Dama dama, and Cervus elaphus, that can be used for species affiliation. The proposed methodology is helpful as a routine identification procedure for a variety of tissue sources, even in cases where the samples are degraded. The new sequences have been deposited in GenBank, enriching the existing Cervidae mtDNA base.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Universal Fragment of mtDNA for Cervidae and Other Ungulate Species Identification

Filip

Strzała²,

Stępień

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…old bones, blood stains; Alacs et al, 2010 ; Linacre & Tobe, 2011 ; Iyengar, 2014 ), noninvasive samples (e.g. hairs, faeces; Waits & Paetkau, 2005 ) and animal furs and pelts ( Sahajpal et al, 2009 ; Jun et al, 2011 ; Pilli et al, 2014 ; this study). Typically, species are identified using universal mitochondrial primers ( Kocher et al, 1989 ; Irwin, Kocher & Wilson, 1991 ), which can also amplify non-target contaminant species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Hindering the illegal trade in dog and cat furs through a DNA-based protocol for species identification

Garofalo

Mariacher

Fanelli

et al. 2018

PeerJ

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In Western countries dogs and cats are the most popular pets, and people are increasingly opposed to their rearing for the fur industry. In 2007, a Regulation of the European Union (EU) banned the use and trade of dog and cat furs, but an official analytical protocol to identify them as source species was not provided, and violations of law are still frequent in all Member States. In this paper we report on the development and validation of a simple and affordable DNA method for species detection in furs to use as an effective tool to combat illegal trade in fur products. A set of mitochondrial primers was designed for amplification of partial cytochrome b, control region and ND1 gene in highly degraded samples, like furs and pelts. Our amplification workflow involved the use of a non-specific primer pair to perform a first test to identify the species through sequencing, then the application of species-specific primer pairs to use in singleplex end-point PCRs as confirmation tests. The advantage of this two-step procedure is twofold: on the one hand it minimises the possibility of negative test results from degraded samples, since failure of amplification with a first set of primers can be offset by successful amplification of the second, and on the other it adds confidence and reliability to final authentication of species. All designed primers were validated on a reference collection of tissue samples, obtaining solid results in terms of specificity, sensitivity, repeatability and reproducibility. Application of the protocol on real caseworks from seized furs yielded successful results also from old and dyed furs, suggesting that age and chemical staining do not necessarily affect positive amplifications. Major pros of this approach are: (1) sensitive and informative primer sets for detection of species; (2) short PCR amplicons for the analysis of poor quality DNA; (3) binding primers that avoid contamination from human DNA; (4) user-friendly protocol for any laboratory equipped for analysis of low-copy-number DNA. Our molecular procedure proved to be a good starting point for enforcing the EU Regulation against dog and cat fur trade in forensic contexts where source attribution is essential to the assignment of responsibilities.

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“…DNA barcodes from similar tissues are already widely used to track illegally traded species (e.g., tigers [Wan & Fang ], Asiatic black bears [Jun et al. ], monitor lizards [Welton et al. ]) and endangered antelopes (Yan et al.…”

Section: Dna Barcoding For Monitoring and Assessments Of Specific Spementioning

confidence: 99%

Application of DNA barcodes in wildlife conservation in Tropical East Asia

Wilson

Sing

Lee

et al. 2016

Conservation Biology

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Over the past 50 years, Tropical East Asia has lost more biodiversity than any tropical region. Tropical East Asia is a megadiverse region with an acute taxonomic impediment. DNA barcodes are short standardized DNA sequences used for taxonomic purposes and have the potential to lessen the challenges of biodiversity inventory and assessments in regions where they are most needed. We reviewed DNA barcoding efforts in Tropical East Asia relative to other tropical regions. We suggest DNA barcodes (or metabarcodes from next-generation sequencers) may be especially useful for characterizing and connecting species-level biodiversity units in inventories encompassing taxa lacking formal description (particularly arthropods) and in large-scale, minimal-impact approaches to vertebrate monitoring and population assessments through secondary sources of DNA (invertebrate derived DNA and environmental DNA). We suggest interest and capacity for DNA barcoding are slowly growing in Tropical East Asia, particularly among the younger generation of researchers who can connect with the barcoding analogy and understand the need for new approaches to the conservation challenges being faced.

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Wildlife forensics using mitochondrial DNA sequences: Species identification based on hairs collected in the field and confiscated tanned Felidae leathers

Cited by 21 publications

References 28 publications

Universal Fragment of mtDNA for Cervidae and Other Ungulate Species Identification

Universal Fragment of mtDNA for Cervidae and Other Ungulate Species Identification

Hindering the illegal trade in dog and cat furs through a DNA-based protocol for species identification

Application of DNA barcodes in wildlife conservation in Tropical East Asia

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