Rapid Polymerase Chain Reaction Based Assay for the Identification of the Highly Endangered Small Tooth Sawfish (Pristis pectinata)

Rapid Polymerase Chain Reaction Based Assay for the Identification of the Highly Endangered Small Tooth Sawfish (Pristis pectinata)

Globally, populations of sawfish (family: Pristidae) have become highly endangered to the point of extinction, and have suffered a decline grater than 90% over the last century. The principal threat to sawfish is fishing and habitat degradation. In the United States most Pristidae species have become completely exasperated. Previously, only two species were reported in US waters(Pristis pectinata and Pristis perotteti), and it’s now believed that Pristis perotteti is virtually extinct. Furthermore, the range of Pristis Pectinata has now been reduced to South Florida and has declined to 5 percent of its original population size. In 2007, CITES delegates approved legislation on the ban of international commercial trade for six of the world's seven sawfish species. However, Pristidae populations continue to decline due to lax law enforcement. Sawfish products are commonly found as raw meat, fins, or ground medicine. Since most of these products are unidentifiable, the lack of substantial evidence makes it difficult to prosecute fisherman and traders. The primary purpose of this research is to generate a genetic test that will provide U.S. law enforcement with an effective means to monitor illegal catch and trade of Pristis pectinata. The test is a polymerase chain reaction based assay, which amplifies the second internally transcribed spacer (ITS2) region of nuclear DNA. Due to the unique size of the ITS2 locus, Pristis pectinata DNA is easily distinguished from other sharks and rays using agarose gel electrophoresis.