title: Diagnostic Cytochrome b gene profiles for the identification of paca (Cuniculus paca) bushmeat: implications for the monitoring of illegal hunting and wildlife trade.
abstract: Paca (Cuniculus paca Linnaeus, 1766) is the second largest rodent found in Brazil. The quality of the meat and a long tradition of hunting have contributed to the decline of the natural populations of this species. Hunting of paca is strictly prohibited in Brazil, but in spite of this restriction, no forensic tools are available for the identification of the meat. We describe an efficient method, based on single nucleotide polymorphisms of the cytochrome b gene, that can be used to differentiate biological material derived from paca from those of domestic species commonly used as sources of meat. The identification of the presence of C. paca in the samples was 100% reliable.
authors.affiliation: Centro Acadêmico de Vitória, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Vitória de Santo Antão, PE, Brazil.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Silva-Neto
authors.affiliation: Centro Acadêmico de Vitória, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Vitória de Santo Antão, PE, Brazil.
authors.forename: P B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil.
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.affiliation: Parque Zoológico Municipal Quinzinho de Barros, Sorocaba, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: R H F
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Texeira
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: J M B
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Duarte
authors.affiliation: Instituto Federal Minas Gerais, Bambuí, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Barbosa
authors.affiliation: Instituto Federal Minas Gerais, Bambuí, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Vargas
authors.affiliation: Centro Acadêmico de Vitória, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Vitória de Santo Antão, PE, Brazil.
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Garcia
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D065469:Cuniculidae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D045303:Cytochromes b / Q000032:analysis*; D008460:Meat / Q000032:analysis* / Q000145:classification; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D045303:Cytochromes b