Probing the potential of InDel polymorphisms on the molecular identification of cetaceans

• DOI: 10.20935/acadbiol6032
• Publication Date: 2023-04-19T19:34:30Z
• Authors: Dafne Adriana Abr...; Rodrigo Goldenber...; Anna Luiza dos Sa...; Elizeu Fagundes d...; Cesar Rogerio Lea...
• Keywords: QH301-705.5; Biology (General)

Studies with cetaceans using degraded samples have faced challenges for molecular identification based on the barcoding methodology and other sequencing techniques due to the fragmented nature of the genetic material found on these samples. In this article, we evaluated the use of insertion–deletion regions for the molecular identification of cetaceans. The presented methodology allows the identification of species based on numeric profiles related to the chosen InDel regions, a forensic gold standard commonly used for degraded samples that cannot be sequenced easily. We carried out an in silico analysis using previously published 16S rRNA and adjacent tRNA-Leu mitochondrial sequences obtained from the NCBI database and found that accurate identification of all species included in our assay could be obtained by combining the lengths of three InDel regions. The regions selected in this study can be used for the construction of molecular identification assays for phylogeny and conservation studies, especially when degraded samples are included.