Comparative Study on DNA Extraction’s Qualitative Analysis of Captive Sumatran Elephant in Elephant Training Center, Way Kambas National Park

Abstract

DNA extraction procedures may exhibit different levels of sensitivity. A preliminary effort to obtain DNA from captive Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus) in Elephant Training Center Way Kambas National Park, Lampung for building their molecular individual identification was done. DNA of 30 male and 23 female captive elephants’ blood samples was extracted by QIAGEN. Qualitative analysis of DNA extraction of captive elephant was conducted using two methods, simple electrophoresis and electrophoresis based on PCR product. The aim of this project is to compare those two methods of qualitative analysis of DNA extraction. The first method used 1% agarose gel electrophoresis in the TAE buffer (Tris-Acetate-EDTA), while the second method used Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technique with Glyseraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (GAPDH) primer. The simple electrophoresis showed 41.5 % positive samples, while the second method showed 86.7% positive samples. The electrophoresis based on PCR product exhibited more sensitivity to detect the DNA from blood of each captive elephant.