Haplogroup Distribution of 309 Thais from Admixed Populations across the Country by HVI and HVII Sanger-Type Sequencing

The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region sequences for the hypervariable regions I (HVI) and II (HVII) of 309 Thai citizens were investigated using Sanger-type sequencing to generate an mtDNA reference dataset for forensic casework, and the haplogroup distribution within geographically proximal Asian populations was analyzed. The population sample set contained 264 distinct haplotypes and showed high haplotype diversity, low matching probability, and high powers of discrimination, at 0.9985, 0.4744%, and 0.9953, respectively, compared with previous reports. Subhaplogroup F1a showed the highest frequency in the Thai population, similar to Southeast Asian populations. The haplotype frequencies in the northern, northeastern, and southern populations of Thailand illustrate the relevance of social, religious, and historical factors in the biogeographical origin of the admixed Thai population as a whole. The HVI and HVII reference datasets will be useful for forensic casework applications, with improved genetic information content and discriminatory power compared to currently available techniques.

The Mitochondrial DNA Landscape of Modern Mexico

Mexico is a rich source for anthropological and population genetic studies with high diversity in ethnic and linguistic groups. The country witnessed the rise and fall of major civilizations, including the Maya and Aztec, but resulting from European colonization, the population landscape has dramatically changed. Today, the majority of Mexicans do not identify themselves as Indigenous but as admixed, and appear to have very little in common with their pre-Columbian predecessors. However, when the maternally inherited mitochondrial (mt)DNA is investigated in the modern Mexican population, this is not the case. Control region sequences of 2021 samples deriving from all over the country revealed an overwhelming Indigenous American legacy, with almost 90% of mtDNAs belonging to the four major pan-American haplogroups A2, B2, C1, and D1. This finding supports a very low European contribution to the Mexican gene pool by female colonizers and confirms the effectiveness of employing uniparental markers as a tool to reconstruct a country’s history. In addition, the distinct frequency and dispersal patterns of Indigenous American and West Eurasian clades highlight the benefit such large and country-wide databases provide for studying the impact of colonialism from a female perspective and population stratification. The importance of geographical database subsets not only for forensic application is clearly demonstrated.

The first record of a Longman’s beaked whale (Indopacetus pacificus) newborn neonate found on Miyako Island, Okinawa, Japan

The Longman’s beaked whale (Indopacetus pacificus) is one of the rarest cetaceans worldwide. Since it was first described as its own species in 1926, they have been observed alive at sea on several occasions, and less than 20 strandings have been reported worldwide to date. Thus, basic information regarding this species, such as the maximum size of adult individuals or body length at birth, remains unknown. In this study, the external appearance and DNA analysis of a female Longman’s beaked whale stranded on Miyako Island, Okinawa, Japan, are reported. The external appearance of the specimen matched the features of the Longman’s beaked whale presented in previous studies. The mitochondrial DNA control-region sequences obtained from the specimen also matched the reference sequences of the species deposited in GenBank. Based on these features, the specimen was confirmed as a Longman’s beaked whale. The specimen was estimated to be neonate because of its body length (235 cm) and the clear several fetal folds observed on its body surface. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a confirmed new born neonate of Longman’s beaked whale in the world.

Mitochondrial DNA Profiling to Combat the Illegal Trade in Tortoiseshell Products

Hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) are exploited for their beautiful shell known as tortoiseshell or bekko, making them extremely vulnerable in the illegal global trade of tortoiseshell products. In this study, we developed an effective, standardized method using a commercially available kit to extract DNA and obtain informative mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region sequences (~800 bp) from hawksbill turtle products in order to trace the sample back to a likely stock origin. We also sequenced additional skin samples from nesting beaches of Milman Island, Australia and Arnavon Island, Solomon Islands to add to the baseline data for hawksbill turtles in the Indo-Pacific. Our results indicate that nine of the 13 tortoiseshell products obtained from Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands were from turtles with haplotypes found primarily at the Solomon Islands rookery and did not match those from nesting populations in Australia or SE Asia, with the exception of one haplotype also found in 3% of turtles at Milman Island. We also found that 23% of the market samples have haplotypes only documented in foraging populations, which illustrates the urgent need for more extensive sampling of rookeries to fill gaps in the reference baseline database. Nevertheless, our study results demonstrate an effective methodology for obtaining DNA of sufficient quantity and quality from hawksbill turtle products.

Identification of the spaghetti eels (Moringua Sp) at Pelabuhan Ratu, Indonesia using mtDNA control region sequences

Eels are economic species of fish. The diversity of eel in the world is essential knowledge that we have to know to manage fisheries in the future. One of the types of eels is Moringua Sp. There are around 11 species of Moringua sp. in the world. In Indonesia, the diversity of Moringua sp. was no information yet. The aim of this study is to the identification of Moringua sp in Indonesia. The method used in this study is a sanger sequence method using the mtDNA control region. Base on this study, we found 726 and 745 base pairs alignment of Moringua by sequencing. The result of BLAST showed identically 87% to Moringua edwardsi and 89% as a Moringua microchir. The low percentage of BLAST yields shows that the sample used for this study is not strong enough to be declared as one of the Moringua species obtained from the results of BLAST analysis. Suspected of being another Moringua species. Thus, to get robust result, further research related to this species identification using COI or Cyt-b.