Right now I can offer this service for Boa constrictor, Epicrates, Nerodia, Morelia, Thamnophis, and Python regius. It is not simply an universal test as the markers we use, in general, are species specific. Some amplify across species, so for example, markers developed for Morelia generally amplify well in Python.

As for cost, it really is a case by case issue. I extract DNA from shed skins from the parents and offspring. I then use microsatellite markers to determine paternity. In general, this now costs around the same as a human paternity test. I should be offering this as a formal service once I establish my new lab at the University of Tulsa in the fall.

Warren
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Dr Warren Booth / Director USARK
North Carolina State University
Department of Entomology

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