NCJ Number
228508
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 54 Issue: 5 Dated: September 2009 Pages: 1042-1045
Date Published
September 2009
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Given the lack of any rapid, reliable technique for identifying crocodile-based crime exhibits that involve the illegal poaching and trade of Indian crocodile species, this paper reports on a DNA-based identification of these crocodile species using restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of PCR products (PCR-RFLP).
Abstract
All three of the Indian crocodile species identified in this research are included in Schedule I in India's Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and are prohibited from hunting or any illegal trade. The current study found that the species-specific patterns revealed by current PCR-RFLP analyses of cyt b gene were helpful in characterizing the Indian crocodile species. This concise PCR-RFLP protocol with a set of three enzymes enabled the discrimination between three different crocodile species, thus assisting in the rapid identification of species in the samples in question. This technique could be a useful tool for forensic laboratories and wildlife personnel in identifying the source of confiscated biological materials in cases related to crocodile poaching. For this research, authenticated biological samples were obtained from Madras Crocodile Bank Trust, Center for Herpetology, Mamallapuram, Tamilnadu, India, and National Chambal Sanctuary Project, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India, under the consent of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, New Delhi. Whole blood samples from the three species and fresh tissue and highly putrefied test samples from dead gharials were included in the study. In addition to sample collection, the descriptions of materials and methods address DNA extraction, PCR amplification, DNA sequencing, and PCR-RFLP. 1 table, 3 figures, and 29 references