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DNA barcoding exposes the need to control the illegal trade of eggs of non-threatened parrots in Brazil

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Abstract

Parrot egg seizure is frequent, and its impact on the population cannot be quantified due to difficulties in identifying the transportation of the eggs by traffickers. Morphological identification of species in eggs is difficult, especially when the embryos are not viable. In this context, DNA barcoding is an alternative for species identification. In May 2018, 31 eggs were seized at the Manaus/AM airport, Brazil and suspected to be parrot eggs. These eggs did not hatch and were sent for species genetic identification. After DNA extraction with the salting-out protocol, fragments of the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene were amplified. DNA barcodes were sequenced, and the results were compared with cytochrome oxidase I (COI) sequences deposited at the Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD). All eggs, except for one, were identified as Graydidascalus brachyurus, a neotropical parrot considered “not threatened” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), but this species is highly trafficked. Calculating the threshold for each generated sequence was fundamental for the reliability of species identification, as the traditional 98–99% sequence similarity pattern is not applicable to all taxa. Each country has specific legislations concerning wildlife trafficking, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) regulates wildlife trade internationally. In Brazil, the penalty is higher in case of species threatened by illegal trade, but it is still not effective. Findings of this study highlight the need for strategies to protect non-threatened species, thereby preventing more species from becoming endangered.

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DNA sequences and SPIDER script are available.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful for the financial support (studentship) provided by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). We also would like to thank the Brazilian Federal Police and Amazonian Research National Institute (INPA), specially for Mario Cohn-Haft and Gisiane Rodrigues Lima, for the availability of egg samples, and the Professor Cristina Yumi Miyaki and the Avian Genetics and Molecular Evolution Lab (LGEMA) of the University of São Paulo (USP) for sharing essential DNA sequences for our in silico analysis. We are also grateful to the Wildlife Recovery Center, in Department of Water and Electric Energy (DAEE) of the Government of São Paulo/SP/Brazil for cession of important quantitative information on bird eggs illegal trade in Brazil and to the Multi-user Laboratory of Biology Studies (LAMEB) of the Biological Sciences Center (CCB) in Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) for the technical support.

Funding

Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq).

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

Leandra Formentão—Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Investigation, Formal Analysis, Data Curation, Writing – Original Draft, Visualization. Alexandre Silva Saraiva—Resources, Writing – Original Draft. Andrea R. Marrero—Conceptualization, Methodology, Resources, Writing – Review & Editing, Supervision, Project Administration, Funding Acquisition.

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Correspondence to Leandra Formentão.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

The approval of the Ethics Committee on the Use of Animals of the Federal University of Santa Catarina was not necessary because samples of animals from police apprehension were used, thus, the researchers did not collect live animals.

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Formentão, L., Saraiva, A.S. & Marrero, A.R. DNA barcoding exposes the need to control the illegal trade of eggs of non-threatened parrots in Brazil. Conservation Genet Resour 13, 275–281 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12686-021-01209-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12686-021-01209-4

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