Discrimination of Asian and African elephant ivory usingrecombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) and lateral flowassay (LFA)

Abstract

Currently, the global elephant population has significantly declined due to the poaching of elephants for their ivory, and this is the reason why elephants are listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). However, Thailand allows the legal trade ivory from registered, domesticated Asian elephants, leading to the smuggling of African elephant ivory, and passing them off as Asian elephant ivory. Therefore, this research aims to develop and validate a DNA testing kit to discriminate between Asian and African elephants, using Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RPA) and Lateral Flow Assay (LFA) according to international standards. The results showed that the test kit can be successfully developed with 100% accuracy (n = 105). This kit is specific to elephants, has a detection limit of 0.031 ng, and can effectively discriminate a variety of elephant ivory, including raw ivory, ivory products, and aged ivory over 25 years old, which had undergone processing or were damaged by high heat, all with 100% accuracy (n = 117). Additionally, the developed test kit is designed to be portable and cost-effective. It does not require expensive laboratory equipment, and provides a faster analysis process. This will expedite the legal process and enforcement of laws related to elephant conservation, reducing the opportunities for illegal activities, and enabling timely prosecution under relevant wildlife conservation laws in Thailand and internationally.

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