Souvenir made of tiger part revealed to be Banteng (Bos javanicus): species identification using DNA sequence analysis.
- Author:
Seo Jin LEE
1
;
Jee Yun HYUN
;
Mi Sook MIN
;
Mu Yeong LEE
;
Hang LEE
Author Information
1. Conservation Genome Resource Bank for Korean Wildlife (CGRB) and Research Institute for Veterinary Science, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Korea. hanglee@snu.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
banteng;
cytochrome b gene;
species identification;
tiger
- MeSH:
Base Sequence*;
China;
Cytochromes b;
DNA*;
Endangered Species;
Genitalia;
Medicine, East Asian Traditional;
Molecular Biology;
Sequence Analysis, DNA*;
Tigers*
- From:Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
2013;53(4):239-243
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
Tigers are one of the most endangered species over the world and protected internationally or locally. However, they are still traded illegally for the Traditional East Asia Medicine or souvenirs / mementos as well as fake products. In the present study, to identify the species of the specimen known as the tiger's genitalia that was sold for mementos in China, two approaches of genetic tools and morphological comparisons were applied. On the basis of the entire sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (1,140 bp), the result of nucleotide comparisons showed that the specimen examined here is matched with banteng, Bos javanicus (Identities = 1,138/1,140; 99%). In addition, the examination of external morphological characters revealed that the genitalia of the specimen is much more similar to the one of cows, not to tigers. The outcomes highlighted that there are still some fake products of tigers traded in market and molecular genetic tools could help identifying species of wildlife products.
