Souvenir made of tiger part revealed to be Banteng (Bos javanicus): species identification using DNA sequence analysis / 대한수의학회지

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.

A core set of microsatellite markers for conservation genetics studies of Korean goral (Naemorhedus caudatus) and its cross-species amplification in Caprinae species

In order to screen microsatellites for conservation genetics studies of the species, a total of 23 microsatellite loci from Korean goral (Naemorhedus caudatus), including 15 previously developed loci and 8 new loci in this study, were tested. Eleven microsatellites were screened and subjected to cross-species amplification using a test panel of four Caprinae species, Japanese serows (Capricornis crispus), Chinese gorals (Naemorhedus goral), Northern chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) and domestic goats (Capra hircus). In addition, all eleven microsatellites (SY3A, SY12A, SY12B, SY48, SY58, SY71, SY76, SY84, SY84B, SY112, and SY129) satisfied the criteria to be a core set of microsatellites. This core set of microsatellites and cross-species amplification of Korean goral microsatellites were found to be helpful for high-resolution studies for conservation and management of Korean goral and other endangered Caprinae species.