麻豆影院

With many animal species in sharp decline because of a thriving illegal animal trade, CU-麻豆影院 and other researchers have developed sequenced DNA bar codes to identify hunted wildlife species.

Such DNA bar codes can help wildlife officials crack down on illegal bushmeat trafficking estimated to net $5 billion to $8 billion annually. Without such a system, hides and finished animal products such as purses are often unidentifiable once they reach the marketplace.

鈥淏ar coding is an essential tool for the identification of natural products,鈥� says Andrew Martin, CU-麻豆影院 associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology. 鈥淭he ultimate goal is to have bar codes for every animal on the planet.鈥�

A research team from CU-麻豆影院, Barnard College and the American Museum of Natural History generated bar codes for 25 commonly traded mammal and reptile species, including Old World monkeys, alligators, crocodiles, antelope and wild pigs.

While technologies to support automated DNA bar coding have yet to be developed, the first step is building a catalog of bar codes.

鈥淭his is not something where you can wave a scanner over a piece of meat in an airport to know the animal鈥檚 identity 鈥� that kind of technology is well into the future,鈥� says Michelle Eaton, a CU doctoral student who led the research.