NON-INVASIVE DNA EXTRACTION FOR MOLECULAR IDENTIFICATION OF ROYAL BENGAL TIGER PANTHERA TIGRIS TIGRIS

Abstract

The flagship animal species of Sundarbans, the Royal Bengal tiger (Panthera
tigris tigris) is under threat of extinction. Its natural population is declining day
by day. So, to avoid killing and harming the animal, the use of non-invasive
samples such as scat, hair, or scent is preferred for DNA extraction and
subsequent genotyping of tiger species. DNA has been extracted from scat
samples of the Bengal tiger in the present study, and a fragment of the cytochrome
b gene has been sequenced after PCR with species-specific primers. DNA has
been extracted manually using a previously described methodology with slight
modifications. The size of the PCR product and sequence of cytochrome b gene
indicates that tiger DNA is successfully extracted from scat samples using tigerspecific
primers. Thus, presence of tiger DNA can be detected by using this
method just by the PCR product size in the gel. This is the first report of a partial
sequence of mitochondrial cytochrome b gene of P. t. tigris from Bangladesh.