Utility of SNP Markers Across Species and Tissue Types for Wildlife Conservation

Recent advances in genetic techniques, such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), are not often applied to non-model species, including wild felids.  Similarly, samples with low quantity of DNA, have not been widely utilized when working with these SNPs.  New SNP markers developed for Puma concolor using transcriptome sequencing have shown to be useful in pumas but have not been tested in other felids. The objective of this study was to test a subset of these puma SNP markers in several other wild felids (jaguar, bobcat, ocelot, and caracal) and several low DNA tissues (scat, hair, and museum hide). Given that gene sequences are relatively conserved across species, we expect some puma SNPs to be informative in other wild felids. Comparing the SNPs in these related species will reveal how applicable these markers are across species. The DNA samples used in this study were obtained from previous/ongoing projects.  The species sampled included puma, jaguar, bobcat, ocelot, and caracal. We amplified target DNA fragments using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and separated the resulting fragments using gel electrophoresis. The preliminary results have shown that the SNPs amplify successfully in some bobcat samples.  The usable markers will help develop the foundation for future conservation and management studies on other felids.  Our results will also be used as part of a larger study investigating the advantages of SNPs versus microsatellite DNA markers in conservation genetics.