Routine DNA analysis based on 12S rRNA gene sequencing as a tool in the management of captive primates

Automated DNA sequencing of a fragment of the relatively slowly evolving mi tochondrial 123 rRNA gene was used to distinguish primate species, and the method was compared with species determination based upon classical taxonom y. DNA from blood from 53 monkeys housed at the Stichting AAP Shelter for E xotic Animals, all Old World monkeys, was amplified by polymerase chain rea ction (PCR) with a primer set spanning approximately 390 nucleotides of the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene. The products were directly sequenced and comp ared with our database of primate 12S sequences. Many individuals were foun d to harbor a 12S sequence identical to one of the reference sequences. For others, phylogenetic methods were used for species estimation, which was e specially informative in Cercopithecus species.