Differentiation of two South African otter species (Aonyx capensis and Lutra maculicollis) from spraint based on partial CytB primer sets
Accurate species identification based on visual cues can be challenging due to morphological similarities and the cryptic nature of certain species. Thus a more conclusive method of identification is required, namely DNA barcoding. This is the case regarding two South African otter species, Cape Cla...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2015-07-01
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| Series: | Global Ecology and Conservation |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989415000499 |
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| author | M. Thabang Madisha Damian Ponsonby Ute Schwaibold Antoinette Kotzé Raymond Jansen Helene Brettschneider Desiré L. Dalton |
| author_facet | M. Thabang Madisha Damian Ponsonby Ute Schwaibold Antoinette Kotzé Raymond Jansen Helene Brettschneider Desiré L. Dalton |
| author_sort | M. Thabang Madisha |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Accurate species identification based on visual cues can be challenging due to morphological similarities and the cryptic nature of certain species. Thus a more conclusive method of identification is required, namely DNA barcoding. This is the case regarding two South African otter species, Cape Clawless otter (Aonyx capensis) and the spotted necked otter (Lutra maculicollis). Due to the cryptic nature of these animals faecal samples, known as spraints, are the easiest way of confirming the presence of the animal in an area. In this study, we compared results obtained for universal and partial CytB primer sets on collected spraint and tissue control samples. Universal CytB primers revealed a low percentage of amplified otter species from faecal samples (species specific amplification success of 10.9%) whereas, the partial CytB primer set resulted in successful amplification of 45 out of 55 (82%) samples. We were thus able to positively differentiate between the two otter species using the partial CytB primer set developed in this study. The ability to accurately identify species using partial DNA will be beneficial in understanding numerous aspects of the behaviour and ecological importance of animals in their environment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T13:13:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b3b2d3e88a3b4b288d62e975b06b387e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2351-9894 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T13:13:22Z |
| publishDate | 2015-07-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Ecology and Conservation |
| spelling | doaj.art-b3b2d3e88a3b4b288d62e975b06b387e2022-12-21T19:02:48ZengElsevierGlobal Ecology and Conservation2351-98942015-07-014C81310.1016/j.gecco.2015.05.001Differentiation of two South African otter species (Aonyx capensis and Lutra maculicollis) from spraint based on partial CytB primer setsM. Thabang Madisha0Damian Ponsonby1Ute Schwaibold2Antoinette Kotzé3Raymond Jansen4Helene Brettschneider5Desiré L. Dalton6National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, P.O. Box 754, Pretoria, 0001, South AfricaSchool of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, South AfricaSchool of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, South AfricaNational Zoological Gardens of South Africa, P.O. Box 754, Pretoria, 0001, South AfricaDepartment of Environmental, Water and Earth Sciences, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria, 0001, South AfricaNational Zoological Gardens of South Africa, P.O. Box 754, Pretoria, 0001, South AfricaNational Zoological Gardens of South Africa, P.O. Box 754, Pretoria, 0001, South AfricaAccurate species identification based on visual cues can be challenging due to morphological similarities and the cryptic nature of certain species. Thus a more conclusive method of identification is required, namely DNA barcoding. This is the case regarding two South African otter species, Cape Clawless otter (Aonyx capensis) and the spotted necked otter (Lutra maculicollis). Due to the cryptic nature of these animals faecal samples, known as spraints, are the easiest way of confirming the presence of the animal in an area. In this study, we compared results obtained for universal and partial CytB primer sets on collected spraint and tissue control samples. Universal CytB primers revealed a low percentage of amplified otter species from faecal samples (species specific amplification success of 10.9%) whereas, the partial CytB primer set resulted in successful amplification of 45 out of 55 (82%) samples. We were thus able to positively differentiate between the two otter species using the partial CytB primer set developed in this study. The ability to accurately identify species using partial DNA will be beneficial in understanding numerous aspects of the behaviour and ecological importance of animals in their environment.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989415000499CytBDegraded DNADNA primersOtter speciesSpraint |
| spellingShingle | M. Thabang Madisha Damian Ponsonby Ute Schwaibold Antoinette Kotzé Raymond Jansen Helene Brettschneider Desiré L. Dalton Differentiation of two South African otter species (Aonyx capensis and Lutra maculicollis) from spraint based on partial CytB primer sets Global Ecology and Conservation CytB Degraded DNA DNA primers Otter species Spraint |
| title | Differentiation of two South African otter species (Aonyx capensis and Lutra maculicollis) from spraint based on partial CytB primer sets |
| title_full | Differentiation of two South African otter species (Aonyx capensis and Lutra maculicollis) from spraint based on partial CytB primer sets |
| title_fullStr | Differentiation of two South African otter species (Aonyx capensis and Lutra maculicollis) from spraint based on partial CytB primer sets |
| title_full_unstemmed | Differentiation of two South African otter species (Aonyx capensis and Lutra maculicollis) from spraint based on partial CytB primer sets |
| title_short | Differentiation of two South African otter species (Aonyx capensis and Lutra maculicollis) from spraint based on partial CytB primer sets |
| title_sort | differentiation of two south african otter species aonyx capensis and lutra maculicollis from spraint based on partial cytb primer sets |
| topic | CytB Degraded DNA DNA primers Otter species Spraint |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989415000499 |
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