No abstract

Microsatellites as highly polymorphic markers are a valuable tool in identification and population studies. In order to form approaches to forensic DNA identification in the investigation of illegal logging cases, 17 SSR markers of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) were tested using DNA from plants growing in the western and eastern parts of the Republic of Belarus. High information content was shown for six microsatellite markers. The potential possibility of using a complex of selected markers for the purpose of DNA identification of Scots pine wood samples in forensic examination has been established.

Using 13 tetra- and 7 dinucleotide microsatellites, we studied the polymorphism of 6 breeds of pigs - Belarusian large white (BLW), Belarusian meat (BM), Belarusian black motley (BBM), Landrace (LR), Yorkshire (YR) and Duroc (DR), which are bred in Belarus. A high level of genetic polymorphism is shown for all breeds, with the exception of the DR breed. For 6 breeds, a low level of inbreeding is shown. Alleles peculiar only to these breeds were found in the gene pools of all the studied breeds. This fact confirms the importance of preserving local breeds for maintaining polymorphism in domestic pigs as a whole. Estimation of genetic distances reveals a significant contribution of the commercial European breeds of Landrace and Yorkshire, however, the evolutionary paths of all three native breeds differ.

For forensic analysis of evidence from illegal hunting sites of moose, a panel of 15 microsatellite (4 tetranucleotide and 11 dinucleotide) loci and 1 sex locus (amelogenin) was proposed. The cumulative power of discrimination of individual based on the common genetic database of moose (for a panel of 15 microsatellite loci) is more than 99.999 999999 999 %. The genetic and forensic indicators of a microsatellite panel were evaluated on a population sample of moose on a national scale (383 samples) for the first time in Europe and forensic methodology of the DNA identification of the moose (Alces alces) introduced into the national legal system.