Identification of the Tibetan fox (Vulpes ferrilata) and the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) by copro-DNA diagnosis

  • Weibin Jiang
  • , Xiaoming Wang
  • , Min Li
  • , Zhenghuan Wang*
  • *Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

Studies on feeding habits based on faeces dissecting are imperative to understand the natural history of Tibetan foxes and their functions in the transmission of a lethal zoonotic parasite, Echinococcus multilocularis. However, Tibetan foxes and red foxes live sympatrically on the Tibetan plateau, China. Therefore, the faeces of Tibetan foxes must be distinguished from those of red foxes. We established a diagnostic method to distinguish the faeces of the two species by amplifying a portion of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (cytb) and digesting with the restriction enzymes BamHI and SspI, to produce specific diagnostic banding patterns. This PCR-RFLP assay enabled rapid, accurate and easily performed identification and differentiation of the two species.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)206-210
Number of pages5
JournalMolecular Ecology Resources
Volume11
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2011

Keywords

  • Non-invasive sampling
  • PCR-RFLP
  • Species identification
  • Tibetan foxes

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