Figure 1.

Results of the DNA extract purity and quantity measurement experiment and taxonomic identification of 25 worked precious coral samples. Five methods were used to extract DNA from equal amounts of material from each sample. PCR inhibition measurement and absolute template quantification was performed with quantitative real-time PCR. Two short mitochondrial DNA fragments were sequenced and each specimen was taxonomically assigned. Note that identifications as Corallium japonicum, Pleurocorallium elatius or P. konojoi were possible based on the combination of genetic and morphological assessments.