Prof. Ram Pratap Singh, Dept. of Life Science of CUSB and his PhD student from Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON) have developed a groundbreaking method to distinguish between Common Quail and Japanese Quail, two bird species so similar that even trained ornithologists struggle to tell them apart. The research, published in the prestigious scientific journal "MDPI Birds" provides wildlife officials with a powerful new tool to combat the illegal trade of wild Common Quail, which are often misrepresented as legally farmed Japanese Quail. The research was supported by the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change, Government of India, underscoring the importance of targeted scientific research in addressing wildlife conservation challenges. The team, led by Prof. Ram Pratap Singh, from CUSB (and Ex-Senior Scientist, SACON), and Dr. Kochiganti Venkata Hanumat Sastry from the National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology in Bengaluru and developed a PCR-RFLP (Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism) technique that targets a specific gene in the birds' DNA. "What makes our method particularly powerful is its simplicity and reliability," explained Prof. Singh, who supervised the research, "Wildlife officials with basic laboratory facilities can now definitively identify these species within hours, rather than relying on uncertain morphological characteristics." This research exemplifies how modern genetic tools can solve practical conservation challenges," noted Dr. Sastry.

The method works by identifying a unique site in the COX1 gene of Common Quail that is absent in Japanese Quail. When the DNA is treated with a specific enzyme called BsaBI, it produces distinctive fragments that create different banding patterns for each species when visualized on a gel. The illegal trade of wild Common Quail has been a persistent problem in India, where Japanese Quail farming is legal but wild Common Quail hunting is prohibited. The Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change had previously banned Japanese Quail farming altogether due to identification difficulties before lifting the ban after evaluation.

"This has been a long-standing challenge in wildlife conservation," said lead author Prateek Dey, a PhD scholar at SACON and Bharathiar University in Coimbatore.  The uncanny similarity between these species has facilitated illegal wildlife trade and hampered conservation efforts for years. Our technique provides a practical solution that empowers wildlife managers to regulate the illegal trade effectively, said Dey. This could have significant implications for quail conservation throughout their range in Asia, Europe, and Africa. Beyond its immediate application in law enforcement, the research demonstrates the value of molecular techniques in species conservation. The team initially attempted to use microsatellite markers for identification but found that the PCR-RFLP method offered superior reliability.