One Use of PCR Has Been to Monitor the Trafficking

question 30

Multiple Choice

One use of PCR has been to monitor the trafficking of endangered organisms. Suppose that one suspect was accused of illegally importing a specific animal, but the suspect asserts that the young animal had been bred in this country from two resident zoo animals. How would you best proceed?

• A)Use blood cells to obtain DNA from the animals and look for sequences found only in illegally traded ones.
• B)Use DNA obtained from biopsy of the suspect organism and use a probe for infectious agents found more frequently in its native country.
• C)Use DNA obtained from the possibly imported animal and treat with restriction enzyme; use a probe for disease genes common in its native country.
• D)Use DNA from hair follicles of supposed zoo parents and of the supposed offspring to compare sequences amplified with primers for a highly polymorphic region.
• E)Amplify highly polymorphic regions from zoo and native populations to compare with the suspect organism.

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