DNA-Based Diet Analysis for Any Predator
Version 2 2023-06-23, 11:04Version 2 2023-06-23, 11:04
Version 1 2023-05-26, 10:44Version 1 2023-05-26, 10:44
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-23, 11:04 authored by GJ DunsheaBackground: Prey DNA from diet samples can be used as a dietary marker; yet current methods for prey detection require a priori diet knowledge and/or are designed ad hoc, limiting their scope. I present a general approach to detect diverse prey in the feces or gut contents of predators. Methodology/Principal Findings: In the example outlined, I take advantage of the restriction site for the endonuclease Pac I which is present in 16S mtDNA of most Odontoceti mammals, but absent from most other relevant non-mammalian chordates and invertebrates. Thus in DNA extracted from feces of these mammalian predators Pac I will cleave and exclude predator DNA from a small region targeted by novel universal primers, while most prey DNA remain intact allowing prey selective PCR. The method was optimized using scat samples from captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) fed a diet of 6-10 prey species from three phlya. Up to five prey from two phyla were detected in a single scat and all but one minor prey item (2% of the overall diet) were detected across all samples. The same method was applied to scat samples from free-ranging bottlenose dolphins; up to seven prey taxa were detected in a single scat and 13 prey taxa from eight teleost families were identified in total. Conclusions/Significance: Data and further examples are provided to facilitate rapid transfer of this approach to any predator. This methodology should prove useful to zoologists using DNA-based diet techniques in a wide variety of study systems. © 2009 Dunshea.
History
Publication title
PLOS OneVolume
4Issue
4Article number
4Number
4Pagination
e5252ISSN
1932-6203Department/School
Biological SciencesPublisher
Public Library of SciencePublication status
- Published
Rights statement
Copyright 2009 Dunshea. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/Repository Status
- Open
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