Short Communication - Molecular Identification of Predatory Birds Through Analysis of Mitochondrial ND2 Gene

Pakistan is bestowed with variety of habitats and climatic conditions which leads to diverse range of avian species. Among avifauna of Pakistan, Birds of prey or raptors are well-known because of their beauty and speed of flight. Falcons, hawks, kites, eagles, and vulture are common birds of prey. They are geographically widespread and common among the vertebrates. Being predatory birds, they are found on the top of food chain. Unfortunately, birds of prey are facing serious threats such as loss of habitat, pollution, poaching and injuries. In order to maintain ecological balance and food chains, this is very important to make strategies for conservation of these predatory birds. However, there is still uncertainty in their taxonomy because these birds are not studied well at genetic level. Morphological identification includes size, color, and body weight etc. which are crude and does not lead to accurate identification at species level. In order to overcome such gaps, the aim of this study was the identification of two broad families of raptors; Accipitridae and Falconidae, at molecular level using mitochondrial ND2 gene. The partial sequence of ND2 gene was submitted to GenBank. The novel SNPs were investigated which serves as marker for identification of Pakistani raptorial species. Two sub species of falcons are also characterized at genetic level for the first time. The study represented the first report on genetic data of raptorial species of the Pakistan. This strategy can be used to identify other species of birds of prey to get diverse genetic data which will be helpful for the conservation planning of these birds. Developed genetic markers of identification will be used for forensic purposes and also play a significant role in maintenance of ecosystems.