Development of a high-throughput microsatellite typing approach for forensic and population genetic analysis of wild and domestic African Bovini.

Abstract

African buffalo, Syncerus caffer, occur throughout subSaharan Africa, and rainfall and disease are two
important factors that influence their distribution and
abundance in the region (Skinner and Chimimba, 2005).
Diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and
bovine tuberculosis (BTB), which are readily transmitted
between buffalo and cattle, are a serious impediment to
international trade, and drastic steps have been imposed
in many countries to limit transmission (Condy, 1979;
Taylor and Martin, 1987). The disease status of African
buffalo has resulted in a burgeoning disease-free buffalo
breeding and testing industry aimed at populating game
parks within the FMD-free zone of South Africa
(Winterbach, 1998). Large differences in the monetary
value between ‘clean’ and ‘infected’ animals has subse-
*Corresponding author. E-mail: Ben@arc.agric.za. Tel: +2712
672-9393. Fax: +2712672-9214.
quently developed (Winterbach, 1998), which in turn has
become a major driver for illegal trade in these animals.
The availability of forensic techniques that permit accurate traceability, are therefore required to deter illegal
trade and to assist in the prosecution of offenders (Dziuk,
2003).