In the local Fayetteville, Georgia area, evidence has been collected to show that the Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) in this region have various levels of shell pitting.  The shell pitting is rendering the turtles ineffective in their defense mechanisms against predators, resulting in lost toes, limbs and even eyes.  Since the majority of turtles in this area are affected, it is likely that there is a genetic component to the pitting.  In an attempt to elucidate organism relatedness, extraction of DNA from box turtles was attempted.  In an effort to identify the least invasive method, various techniques were examined.  The techniques examined by this work were DNA extraction from turtle shells, small samples of turtle blood, and small samples of turtle tissue. Following successful DNA extraction, various polymorphic satellite sites were examined via PCR to establish box turtle lineage.

Turtle genealogical identification by means of polymorphic DNA analysis

247th National Meeting (2014)

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