DNA barcoding of Macrocephalon maleo originating from Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

Conservation of Maleo Senkawor (Macrocephalon maleo Sal. Muller, 1846) continues to be carried out to sustain this bird species. The genetic information from this study can be used to support future conservation activities. This study aimed to provide information on the genetic characteristics of the endangered Maleo Senkawor based on the partial sequence of the Cytochrome Oxidase 1 (COI) gene in mitochondrial DNA. Samples were collected from Central Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, and North Sulawesi. Total DNA isolation was performed using the Dneasy® Blood and Tissue kit through a modified Qiagen protocol. PCR amplification used a forward primer MMCOI_F (5'-ccgatgattattctcaacca-3') and a reverse primer MMCOI_R (5'-gtagccgaatggttcttttt-3'). Analysis was performed on the partial sequences of the M. maleo COI mtDNA gene and its amino acid sequences. The genetic distance between the M. maleo population from North Sulawesi, Southeast and Central Sulawesi is 0.001 (0.1%). Macrocephalon maleo population of Southeast and Central Sulawesi have 0% genetic distance. Analysis of the COI M. maleo gene from 3 population locations showed that they came from the same species. Based on the genetic distance of the Kimura model with 2 parameters in the 3 populations, the M. maleo formed the same group (ingroup species) but had a different haplotype. These differences can be used as characterizing markers in each population. Furthermore, the conservation of M. maleo from these 3 populations was better treated as a separate group based on the mitochondrial DNA COI gene to avoid the negative impact of interpopulation breeding.