title: Species identification from dried snake venom.
abstract: Illegal trade in snake parts has increased enormously. In spite of strict protection under wildlife act, a large number of snakes are being killed ruthlessly in India for venom and skin. Here, an interesting case involving confiscation of crystallized dried snake venom and subsequent DNA-based species identification is reported. The analysis using the universal primers for cytochrome b region of the mitochondrial DNA revealed that the venom was extracted from an Indian cobra (Naja naja). On the basis of this report, the forwarding authority booked a case in the court of law against the accused for illegal hunting of an endangered venomous snake and smuggling of snake venom. This approach thus has immense potential for rapid identification of snake species facing endangerment because of illegal trade. This is also the first report of DNA isolation from dried snake venom for species identification.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Conservation of Endangered Species Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology Uppal Road, Hyderabad 500 007, India.
authors.forename: Chandra S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Ajay
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gaur
authors.forename: Ara
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sreenivas
authors.forename: Lalji
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Singh
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003415:Crime / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D003460:Crystallization; D045303:Cytochromes b / Q000235:genetics*; D017931:DNA Primers; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D003890:Desiccation; D017815:Elapidae / Q000235:genetics*; D056727:Endangered Species / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D007194:India; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012910:Snake Venoms / Q000235:genetics*; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D012910:Snake Venoms; D045303:Cytochromes b