thar she blows! a novel method for dna collection from cetacean blow塔尔她吹!.pdf

Thar She Blows! A Novel Method for DNA Collection from Cetacean Blow ´ ` 1 2 2 3 3 2 Celine H. Frere *, Ewa Krzyszczyk , Eric M. Patterson , Sue Hunter , Alison Ginsburg , Janet Mann 1 School of Veterinary Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, 2 Departments of Biology and Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America, 3 National Aquarium, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America Abstract Background: Molecular tools are now widely used to address crucial management and conservation questions. To date, dart biopsying has been the most commonly used method for collecting genetic data from cetaceans; however, this method has some drawbacks. Dart biopsying is considered inappropriate for young animals and has recently come under scrutiny from ethical boards, conservationists, and the general public. Thus, identifying alternative genetic collection techniques for cetaceans remains a priority, especially for internationally protected species. Methodology/Principal Findings: In this study, we investigated whether blow-sampling, which involves collecting exhalations from the blowholes of cetaceans, could be developed as a new less invasive method for DNA collection. Our current methodology was developed using six bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, housed at the National Aquarium, Baltimore (USA), from which we were able to collect both blow and blood samples. For all six individuals, we found that their mitochondrial and microsatellite DNA profile taken from blow, matched their corresponding mitochondrial and microsatellite DNA profile collected from blood. This indicates that blow-sampling is a viable a