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Development of a multiplex, PCR-based genotyping assay for African and Asian elephants for forensic purposes

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Abstract

Wildlife crimes and the threats they present to elephant populations raise the need to develop and implement DNA-based methodology as an aid for wildlife forensic investigations and conservation efforts. This study describes the development of a tetra-nucleotide repeat STR multiplex, genotyping assay that will identify Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) and African elephant (Loxodonta africana) DNA. The assay targets six tetra-nucleotide STRs and two sex-typing markers simultaneously in both genera of elephants, a first for elephant genotyping assays. The developed assay has potential application in wildlife investigations to associate a biological sample to a particular individual elephant and additionally in conservation science for population management.

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Acknowledgments

This work would not be possible without DNA sources from Six Flags: Safari Off Road Adventure, the Cincinnati Zoo, the St. Louis Zoo, the Northeast Wildlife DNA Laboratory, Quakertown Veterinary Clinic, and the Brandywine Zoo. Thank you for your contributions.

Funding

Arcadia University’s Master of Forensic Science Program, the University of the Sciences Biological Sciences Department, and the Department of Biological and Physical Sciences at Keystone College provided funds towards this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Physics & Forensic Science, Arcadia University, Glenside, PA, USA

    Margret J. Potoczniak & Shanan S. Tobe

  2. Department of Biological & Physical Sciences, Keystone College, La Plume, PA, USA

    Michael Chermak & Jillian Conte

  3. Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Cedar Crest College, Allentown, PA, USA

    Lawrence Quarino

  4. College of Science, Health, Engineering and Education, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia

    Shanan S. Tobe

  5. Department of Biological Sciences, University of the Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Jillian Conte

Authors
  1. Margret J. Potoczniak
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  2. Michael Chermak
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  3. Lawrence Quarino
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  4. Shanan S. Tobe
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  5. Jillian Conte
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jillian Conte.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

The authors did not come into contact nor were they responsible for the care of any animals in the course of this research; thus, ethical approval is not needed. Animal samples were collected by their caretakers.

Research involving human subjects

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee (Keystone College IRB Committee IRB ID No. 2017-000673) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Potoczniak, M.J., Chermak, M., Quarino, L. et al. Development of a multiplex, PCR-based genotyping assay for African and Asian elephants for forensic purposes. Int J Legal Med 134, 55–62 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-019-02097-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-019-02097-y

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