Deer DNA Tests – Why Test Deer? 

Deer DNA tests Why DNA test deer?

Just because deer are not usually pets like dogs and cats or sold as through breeds like horses, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a reason to DNA test deer.  Deer breeders are as interested in deer genetics as people breeding cattle.  Deer antlers and deer meat are both commodities that are sold by deer breeders, alone with deer offspring.  If the genes that control antler growth are identified, then planned breeding of deer can mean higher profits for deer breeders without spending any extra money.  The below article Deer Genetic Solution explains why deer DNA tests are important.

Breeders hope that a buck with large antlers will pass that genetic trait to his fawns. Breeders select the bucks that will be used in their breeding programs and try to prevent other bucks from contributing. DNA testing has become a valuable tool for breeders. The very same technology used in human identification can be applied to deer. The test looks at specific pieces of DNA which are referred to as “DNA markers.” These markers come in pairs, one from the sire and one from the dam. The pattern of each of the markers is the genetic profile or genotype of the animal. This profile is constant for an animal but differs between animals.

Deer DNA Services

• Unique Identification
• Species Verification
• Parentage Verification
• Confirm Artificial Insemination Success
• Settle Ownership Disputes
• Poaching or Illegal Hunting Prosecutions and Defense
• Insurance Claims
• Solve Forensic Mysteries

Samples processed and results returned in 15 business days or less.

DNA Testing Benefits  For Breeders

• Confirm identity
• Establish Genetic Profiles
• Confirm Pedigrees
• Establish Paternity / Maternity to perpetuate valuable bloodlines

Deer DNA tests to reconstruct pedigrees of deer with Chronic Wasting Disease

Holly Ernest, Bruce Hoar, Jay Well, and Katherine O’Rourke

Molecular genetic data provide powerful tools for genealogy reconstruction to reveal mechanisms underlying disease ecology. Kin-related close social spacing in deer may be a factor in the spread of infectious diseases. Spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), a prion disorder of deer and their cervid relatives, is presumed to be associated with direct contact between individuals and by exposure to shared food and water sources contaminated with prions shed by infected deer. Key aspects of disease ecology are yet unknown. DNA tools for pedigree reconstruction were developed to fill knowledge gaps in disease dynamics in prion-infected wild animals. Kinship indices using data from micro satellite loci and sequence haplotypes of mitochondrial DNA were employed to assemble genealogies. These molecular genealogy tools will be useful for landscape-level population genetic research and monitoring, in addition to epidemiologic studies examining transmission of CWD in captive and free ranging cervids.

Ernest HB, Hoar BR, Well, JA, O’Rourke K. In press 2010. Molecular genealogy tools for white-tailed deer with Chronic Wasting Disease. Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research.

You can read more about deer DNA testing and deer DNA testing sites on this blog.   If you want the best deer control website, please visit Deer-Departed.com  One of the largest deer DNA testing sites is DNA Solutions USA. com