DNA analysis
Genetic analyses are a key component of monitoring large predators in Austria.
They provide important information on the number of individuals, kinship within a population, and the immigration of wolves from neighboring regions.
Sample material is collected year-round using non-invasive methods (e.g., feces, urine in snow, hair, saliva, swab samples from dead animals). Good sample quality is crucial for successful DNA analysis.
In Austria, the Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology (FIWI) at Vetmeduni Vienna analyzes all genetic samples suspected of containing wolves. Up to three analyses are carried out:
- Species and origin determination: via mitochondrial DNA (haplotype).
- Differentiation from dogs and hybrids: via the amylase gene.
- Individual identification (genotype): via microsatellite markers (HTS).
FIWI is in contact with genetics laboratories that analyze samples from neighboring countries. However, complete cross-border tracking of individual animals is not yet possible.
eight different laboratories analyzed DNA samples from wolves
In the Alpine region, a total of eight different laboratories analyze wolf DNA samples: the US Forest Service National Genomics Center (Piedmont), RAVA Lab (Aosta Valley), ISPRA (rest of Italy), the University of Lausanne (Switzerland), OFB-Antagene (France), the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), Senckenberg (Germany), and FIWI (Austria). Outside the Alps, the laboratory for the Czech Republic at the University of Prague coordinates with the laboratory at Senckenberg. There is no routine DNA analysis of wolf samples in Slovakia or Hungary.
In Austria, a comparison of newly determined genotypes with the Senckenberg Laboratory in Germany is routinely carried out for wolves from the Central European lowland population (northern source population, haplotypes H1 and H2, see the work by Pilot 2010) and, in cases of reasonable suspicion, also for wolves from other source populations. Currently, however, cross-border movements of individual wolves are not yet fully tracked.
The results of haplotype determination from different laboratories are consistently highly comparable (analysis of mitochondrial DNA for species and origin determination). All participating laboratories examine the same control region in the DNA; the result is the sequence of base pairs in this DNA segment, regardless of the method used or the technical equipment employed. Differences exist only in the length of the analyzed segment. Slovenia does not generally determine haplotypes.
