Species determination: the role and use of the cytochrome b gene

Many large mammalian species are on the verge of extinction in part because of the trade in their skin, bone, horn, or body parts for supposed medicinal purposes. Identification of the species is required to determine that a crime has been committed. This chapter details a robust DNA technique using part of the cytochrome b gene on the mitochondrial genome that will work on poor-quality samples such as powdered horn. An appropriate deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) extraction technique is required to obtain at least 10 ng of DNA. Amplification of part of the cytochrome b gene using universal primers produces a fragment of approx 486 bp in size. Direct sequencing of the PCR products allows comparison of the DNA sequence at this locus to those already described on the EMBL DNA database.