Abstract:
AIM: To distinguish the commercial crude drug “wushaoshe” (
Zaocys dhumnades) from its substitutes, especially when they were cut into pieces, is difficult. In order to solve the problem, the Cyt
b gene fragment both of “Wushaoshe” and of its substitutes together with their corresponding original animals were sequenced in the present research. METHODS: Cyt
b gene fragment of about 308 bps was amplified using a pair of universal primers, L14841 and H15149. The PCR products were purified and then sequenced by silver staining DNA sequencing technique. RESULTS: DNA sequence of 246 bps Cyt
b gene fragment were obtained from 22 individuals including
Zaocys dhumnades and 9 other species of common colubrid snakes. Among the sequence data, 101 varied sites were found. The interspecific substitution varies from 1184% to 23.98% with an average of 16.85%. The intraspecific substitution varies from 0 to 4.06% with an average of 1.14%. The former is fifteen times of the latter. CONCLUSION: The Cyt
b gene fragments were highly conservative at intraspecific level in the snake, while they were less conservative at interspecific level. Hence, the sequence of this fragment is a good molecular marker for identification of the crude snake drugs.