Species identification of Tanzanian antelopes using DNA barcoding
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Date
2011
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Molecular Ecology Resources
Abstract
Efficient tools for consistent species identification are important in wildlife conservation as it can provide information on
the levels of species exploitation and assist in solving forensic-related problems. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness
of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) barcode in species identification of Tanzanian antelope
species. A 470 base-pair region of the COI gene was examined in 95 specimens representing 20 species of antelopes, buffalo
and domestic Bovidae. All the Tanzanian species showed unique clades, and sequence divergence within species was
<1%, whereas divergence between species ranged from 6.3% to 22%. Lowest interspecific divergence was noted within the
Tragelaphus genus. Neighbour-joining phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that the examined COI region provided correct
and highly supported species clustering using short fragments down to 100 base-pair lengths. This study demonstrates that
even short COI fragments can efficiently identify antelope species, thus demonstrating its high potential for use in wildlife
conservation activities.
Description
Molecular Ecology Resources 2011,VoL 11:442–449
Keywords
Species identification, mtDNA, Cytochrome c oxidase I, Antelopes, COI, Wildlife