George F. Gee C.L. Hardekopf G.A. Mark Jonathan L. Longmire 1992 <p><span>DNA fingerprinting was used to study paternity and genetic variability within a captive flock of Whooping Cranes (<i>Grus americana</i>). Fingerprint patterns for 42 individuals were obtained by digesting genomic crane DNAs with <i>Hae</i>III followed by electrophoresis, blotting, and hybridization to the M13 minisatellite probe. Despite finding reduced levels of genetic variation in the Whooping Crane due to a population "bottleneck," these polymorphisms were successfully used to determine paternity in six of seven cases of captive propagation where the maternal-offspring relationship was known, but where the sire was unknown. These determinations of paternity are required for effective genetic management of the crane flock. These results also revealed a number of heterozygous minisatellite loci that will be valuable in future assessments of genetic variability in this endangered species.</span></p> application/pdf en American Ornithological Society Establishing paternity in Whooping Cranes (<i>Grus americana</i>) by DNA analysis article