A molecular genetic approach to roebuck individual identification in the case of poaching in Serbia

Abstract

Application of the molecular genetic methods in forensic cases dealing with wild animals has significantly increased recently. These techniques are practically used in order to help solving four key problems : determination of kind of the wild animal, geographic origin, kinship ties and individual identification. In this work the first case of introducing the examination of polimorphism of microsatelite genetic markers within forensic analysis in the cases of poaching in Serbia is presented. The objectives of this forensic analysis was to determine if the meat confiscated during house search of the suspect comes from roebuck origin (Capreolus capreolus), which remains had been found by a game warden in the field during closed season, where the suspect denied the offense, claiming that the meat comes from other roebuck that had been shot during the previous hunting season. DNK was isolated from the skin and fur samples taken from the roebuck corpse found in the woods, as well as from the frozen meat found in the suspect's house. Both amplification and polimorphism examination of the eight microsatelite markers (ROE01, NVHRT21, NVHRT24, NVHRT48, NVHRT73, RT7 AND RT27) were carried out. In all the examined samples, the same pattern of variability of the tested microsatelites was determined, that is it was proved that DNK profiles of the samples taken from roebuck corpse were identical to DNK profile of the meat sample found in the suspect's house. This result clearly indicates that all the examined biological samples originate from the same animal, and consequently represents forensically valid evidence in the case of roebuck poaching.

Primena molekularno-genetičkih tehnika u forenzičkim slučajevima koji uključuju divlje životinje u značajnom je porastu tokom poslednjih godina. Ove tehnike se u praktičnom radu na slučajevima primarno koriste u rešavanju četiri ključna problema: utvrđivanje vrste divlje životinje, određivanje geografskog porekla, utvrđivanje srodničkih veza i individualna identifikacija. U ovom radu predstavljamo prvi slučaj primene ispitivanja polimorfizma mikrosatelitskih genetičkih markera u okviru forenzičke analize slučaja krivolova u Srbiji. Cilj forenzičke analize bio je da se utvrdi da li meso zaplenjeno tokom pretresa kuće osumnjičenog potiče od srndaća (Capreolus capreolus), čiji su ostaci pronađeni od strane lovočuvara na terenu tokom perioda lovostaja, pri čemu je osumnjičeni negirao delo tvrdeći da meso potiče od drugog srndaća ubijenog tokom prethodne sezone lova. DNK je izolovana iz uzoraka kože i krzna uzetih sa leša srndaća nađenog u šumi i uzoraka zamrznutog mesa nađenog u kući osumnjičenog. Izvršena je amplifikacija i ispitivanje polimorfizma osam mikrosatelitskih markera (ROE01, NVHRT16, NVHRT21, NVHRT24, NVHRT48, NVHRT73, RT7 i RT27). U svim ispitivanim uzorcima ustanovljen je isti obrazac varijabilnosti testiranih mikrosatelita, odnosno pokazano je da su DNK profili uzoraka uzetih sa leša srndaća identični DNK profilu uzorka mesa nađenog u kući osumnjičenog. Ovakav rezultat jasno ukazuje na to da su svi ispitivani biološki uzorci poticali od iste životinje i predstavlja forenzički validan dokaz u slučaju krivolova srndaća.