However, in the forensic scenario and in cases of formalin fixed
museum samples, obtaining a 648 bp amplicon is often not feasible
because of heavy DNA degradation [21,22]. Hence, DNA barcoding
in such cases is not a realistic approach for species identification.
Therefore, it is considered imperative to design a technique using
novel primers to yield shorter amplicons, and thereby ensure
augmented amplification probability. The sequences derived from
these smaller amplicons are termed as ‘mini-barcodes’ and have
been successfully employed in the identification of several animal
species [23,24].
Hence, in this study we propose the use of mini-barcodes or
short sequences using the novel primers designed herein for snake
species identification. This is the first corroborative report on the
application of mini-barcoding technique for