粪便DNA分析技术在分子生态学研究中的机遇与挑战

Opportunities and challenges of fecal DNA technology in molecular ecology researches

随着粪便DNA分析技术的不断发展与完善,其越来越多地被应用于分子生态学研究中,特别是野生动物的遗传状况评估研究。粪便DNA的获取可以在不干扰,甚至无需观察到动物本身的情况下展开,因此避免了取样活动可能给野生动物带来的干扰或伤害,极大地促进了野生动物分子生态学的研究。虽然粪便DNA分析技术在其建立伊始因DNA质量问题而受到了一定的挑战,但自其建立至今,研究者发展了多种技术来克服这一问题,现已能获得较高质量的粪便DNA,并将基因分型错误率控制在较低水平。本文将结合我们在粪便DNA分析技术上积累的经验,从粪便样品采集、保存、DNA提取、PCR扩增以及等位基因分型等各个环节对该技术进行详细探讨,以期阐明该技术在野生动物分子生态学研究中所面临的机遇与挑战,进一步推动其在我国野生动物保护研究中的应用与发展。

Advances in fecal DNA technology have expanded its usages in molecular ecology, especially in genetic assess- ment of wild animals. The technology allows researchers to understand ecological issues without contacting, disturbing, or even seeing animals, thus avoided invasions to the animal studied, and greatly promotes studies in molecular ecology of wild animals. Although this technology could yield poor DNA and relatively high genotyping errors in its early stages, these problems have been overcome gradually with the technological achievements being made in the past 25 years. Nowadays, fecal DNA technology yields good DNA and low genotyping errors, allowing researchers to address questions in reliability. Here, we share our knowledge about technological pitfalls on fecal sampling, preservation, DNA extraction, PCR, and genotyping in detail, and discuss opportunities and challenges of its applications, aiming to increase the power and role of the technology in molecular ecology of wild animals.