Efficient identification of Microtus cabrerae excrements using noninvasive molecular analysis

• Published in: Conservation genetics resources Vol. 3; no. 1; pp. 127 - 129
• Main Authors: Alasaad, Samer, Sánchez, Antonio, Marchal, Juan Alberto, Píriz, Ana, Garrido-García, José A., Carro, Francisco, Romero, Ismael, Soriguer, Ramón C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.01.2011; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal Genetics and Genomics; Biodiversity; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Body size; Conservation Biology/Ecology; Ecology; Endangered & extinct species; Evolutionary Biology; feces; genes; Life Sciences; Microtus; Microtus cabrerae; Mitochondrial DNA; Plant Genetics and Genomics; Sympatric populations; taxonomy; Technical Note; Threatened species; voles; wild animals; Repetitive DNA; Threatened species; gene; Semi-nested PCR; Species identification; Noninvasive samples
• ISSN: 1877-7252; 1877-7260
• DOI: 10.1007/s12686-010-9306-2

Noninvasive sampling is a potentially cost-effective and efficient means of monitoring wild animals that precludes the need for captures and avoids undue disturbance. Nevertheless, it is generally difficult to separate faeces deposited by Microtus cabrerae from that of other sympatric rodents of similar body size on the basis of just morphological features and content. Species identification methods in many noninvasive studies involve mtDNA analysis. Here we report the first use of species-specific primers targeting the SRY gene in a noninvasive molecular identification of Cabrera’s vole. This noninvasive molecular-based technique may thus provide us with a potential tool for further genetic and ecological study of this threatened species of Iberian vole.