SBIR-STTR Award

LGL Ecological Genetics, Inc. identified a commercial opportunity to develop DNA fingerprinting assays for use on psittacine birds. This technology will result in a registry of the legal birds in captivity. The need for this registry results from the Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992 which stipulates that certain species of exotic birds must have a unique and identifiable mark. Only genetic marks are accurate enough for this purpose. However, an adequate fingerprinting process for these animals does not yet exist. Therefore, they will develop PCR primers to amplify microsatellite loci suitable to establish the identity of any individual bird. The company will serve to provide the laboratory analyses required for registration of a bird. Phase I will demonstrate such primers for the hyacinth macaw, and show their accuracy for discriminating among closely related individuals. Phase II will involve the fingerprinting of large numbers of hyacinth macaws, developing primers for a diversity of psittacid taxa, and the fingerprinting of the individuals in the "macaw colony." Phase III will entail the establishment of the registry and the development of the fingerprinting industry which will be funded on a user-fee basis.

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will develop a prototype automated microsatellite genotyping system for commercial applications. In Phase I of this project, nine microsatellite loci were isolated from hyacinth macaws. These loci were used for DNA fingerprinting of individual hyacinth macaws and pedigrees. These loci were also found to work in six other macaw species. In Phase II of this project, the system will be expanded to include six species from the other major groups of psittacine birds: cockatoos, Old World Parrots, and New World Parrots. Using new molecular cloning methods, developed in Phase I, 6-10 microsatellite loci in each of the six new species will isolated and characterized. Protocols will be developed for multiplex PCR(TM) reactions and analysis of multiple loci in a single lane of an electrophoretic gel on an automated DNA sequencer. Genotype data will be linked directly from the laboratory system to a computerized database. It is anticipated that at the end of Phase II, a complete, efficient, and cost-effective system will be available for producing a multilocus genotype suitable for individual identity and pedigree analysis for most species of psittacines. There is a large existing market for genotyping services in parrots and many other species including livestock, pets, laboratory animals, and wild populations. This market is expected to grow substantially for parrots as the Wild Bird Conservation Act is enforced and positive identity of legally-owned birds is required. As modern, cost-effective systems, such as that to be developed in this research, become available it is anticipated that the market for genotyping other species will grow rapidly.