Microsoft PowerPoint Portada taller Jaguares

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Appendix I.  Contact information  

 

Kathleen Conforti 

Program Coordinator  

Jaguar Conservation Program  

Wildlife Conservation Society 

2300 Southern Boulevard 

Bronx, NY  10460-1099 

Phone: [phone] 

FAX: [phone] 

 

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Appendix II.  Glossary of commonly used genetic terms 

 

Allele

 – one of a series of alternative forms of a given gene 

Deoxyribonucleic acid

 – DNA - the primary genetic material of a cell: a polymer of the nucleotides 

(adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine) typically containing two polynucleotide chains in the 

form of a double helix.   

Genetic distance – 

a measure of the number of allelic substitutions per locus that have occurred during the 

separate evolution of two populations or species. 

Microsatellites

1

-class of DNA markers that consist of sequences containing a variable number of short (2-5 

nucleotides) tandem repeats inherited in a single locus, codominant Mendelian manner (e.g. GT

6 

or GTGTGTGTGTGT).  Because of their high mutation rate, these markers tend to have a large 

number of alleles and high heterozygosity.  Their highly polymorphic nature and small size have 

made them the ideal genetic system for population based studies.   

Mitochondrial DNA

2

 – 

mtDNA - the mitochondrial genome consists of a circular DNA duplex with 5-10 

copies per organelle.  Mitochondrial DNA has proven to be a useful tool in the discrimination of 

closely related taxa.  Its unique properties include maternal inheritance, rapid rate of evolution, 

and lack of recombination.     

Parsimony principle

 - the principle that the simplest sufficient hypothesis is to be preferred, even if others 

are possible.  Also called Occam’s razor. 

Polymerase chain reaction

 – PCR - a technique for copying the complementary strands of a target DNA 

molecule simultaneously for a series of cycles until the desired amount is obtained.   

Primers

 – a short strand of nucleic acid which provides the starting point required for the initiation of 

DNA replication by elongation.  

Sequencing

—the determination of the order of nucleotide residues of a DNA molecule or fragment  

Taq DNA polymerase – a DNA polymerase synthesized by the thermophilic bacterium Thermus aquaticus.  

This enzyme, which is stable up to 95°C, is used in the polymerase chain reaction.   

 

Excerpts from: 

1

Bruford, M. W., D. J. Cheesman, T. Coote, H. A. A. Green, S. A. Haines, C. O’Ryan, and T. R. Willimas.  

1996.  Microsatellites and their application to conservation genetics.  In Molecular Genetic 

Approaches in Conservation (T. B. Smith and R. K. Wayne, eds.), pp. 278-297. Oxford University 

Press, New York, New York.   

2

Brown, W. M. 1983.  Evolution of mitochondrial DNA, In Evolution of genes and proteins (M. Nei and R. 

K. Koehn, eds.), pp. 62-88.  Sinauer, Sunderland, Massachusetts. 

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King, R. C. and W. D. Stansfield. (eds.)  1997.  A Dictionary of Genetics, 5

th

 edition

.  Oxford University Press: 

New York, New York.   

Lincoln, R., G. Boxshall, and P. Clark. 1998.  A Dictionary of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics. 2

nd

 edition.

 

Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.   

 

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Appendix III.  Suggested supplies needed in the field to collect biomaterials for 

genetic studies and contacts for obtaining supplies 

 

 

Collecting tubes containing tissue storage buffers-  

Duct tape 

Laboratory Gloves 

Sharpie® pen 

Laboratory face mask 

Pencil 

Foil 

Scalpel and blades 

Envelopes or paper bags

 

Forceps 

Paper towels 

Kim-Wipes® 

1.8 mL Nunc® tubes 

15 mL Falcon® graduated tubes 

Parafilm®  

50 mL Falcon® graduated tubes  

Ethanol (96% vol) 

Silica bead packets 

Filter paper  

Container to store used scapel blades 

Plastic Ziploc® Baggies

 

Journal or Rite-in-Rain notebooks 

 

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR SCIENTIFIC SUPPLY COMPANIES IN U.S. 

Fisher Catalog Products (Phone: [phone]) 

Catalog# 

Kim-Wipes® 

06-666A 

1.8 mL Nunc® tubes 

12-565-171N 

15 mL Falcon® graduated tubes 

05-527-90 

50 mL Falcon® graduated tubes 

14-432-23 

Parafilm®  

13-374-16 

 

Sigma Catalog Products (Phone: [phone]) 

Catalog# 

Silica bead packets 

S8394 

Ethanol (96% vol) 

24106 

 

NOTE: See Appendix IV for tissue storage buffer recipe 

 

 

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 Appendix IV.  Recipes for the Preparation of Tissue Storage Buffer 

 

Tissue storage buffer

 (1:5 tissue:buffer): 0.1M Tris, pH 8.0 wHCl; 0.1M EDTA•Na2; 

0.01M NaCl; 0.5% w/vol. SDS (final pH 7.5-8.0) 

 

To make 1 liter of the tissue storage buffer: 

0.1 M Tris – 12.11 grams/ L  

0.1 M EDTA•Na2 – 37.22 grams/ L  

0.01 M NaCl – 0.5844 grams / L  

0.5% weight/volume SDS – 5 grams/ L  

 

Final pH 7.5-8.0 with HCl 

 

Store at room temperature, away from heat and direct light 

 

 

Chemicals needed: 

Name 

Molecular weight (grams) 

Sigma 

Catalog#  

Trizma® base 

Tris 

121.14 

T6791 

Tris[hydroxymethyl]aminomethane 

 

EDTA•Na

2

 

ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid•disodium salt 372.2 

E1644 

 

NaCl  

sodium chloride 

58.44 

S7653 

 

SDS 

sodium dodecyl sulfate  

n.a. 

L4509 

lauryl sulfate 

 

 

 

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