seaturtle.org - Genetic "Tags"

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Genetic "Tags"

The use of naturally occurring variation in DNA sequences of different turtles from various populations can be used to infer the source nesting population of sampled turtles. These "tags" are naturally occurring and there is no special effort needed to "apply" the tags. However, the processes by which the genetic tags are detected and analyzed are quite complex. Note that some markers are shared across different populations, and it is only the frequency of occurrence of these markers in a large sample that can be used to estimate the origin of the turtles. On the other hand, DNA fingerprinting can be used to identify individual turtles, but it would be necessary to have a DNA fingerprinting database based on a large number of turtles in order for it to be effective as a "tag". A list of different genetic markers and haplotypes is available here http://accstr.ufl.edu/genetics.html. For more information on conservation genetics of sea turtles, see here http://swfsc.nmfs.noaa.gov/PRD/Seaturtle/ and you can also download the Proceedings of the International Symposium on Sea Turtle Conservation Genetics (1995) http://www.sefsc.noaa.gov/PDFdocs/memo-396.pdf