DNA barcode approaches to reveal interspecies genetic variation of Indian ungulates.

In the past two decades, identification of species from noninvasive sampling has turned out to be an important tool for wildlife conservation. In this study a total 93 specimens representing 22 species of ungulates were analyzed from partial sequences of mtDNA and genes. All the species showed unique clades, and sequences divergence within species was between 0.01-3.9% in and 0.01-13.7 in , whereas divergence between species ranged from 2.2 to 29.5% in COI and 2.3 to 28.8% in Cytb. Highest intraspecific divergence was observed within the in COI and in . Bayesian (BA) phylogeny analysis of both genes combined distinguishes all the studied species as monophyletic criteria. The Indian rhinoceros () exhibited closer relation to horse (). No barcode gap was observed between species in . This study demonstrates that even short fragments of and generated from fecal pellets can efficiently identify the Indian ungulates, thus demonstrating its high potential for use in wildlife conservation activities.