A quantitative evaluation of two methods for preserving hair samples

• Published in: Molecular Ecology Notes
• Main Authors: Roon, D. A., Waits, L. P., Kendall, K. C.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2003
• Subjects: Ursus arctos
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1471-8286.2003.00358.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1046%2Fj.1471-8286.2003.00358.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.1471-8286.2003.00358.x

Abstract Hair samples are an increasingly important DNA source for wildlife studies, yet optimal storage methods and DNA degradation rates have not been rigorously evaluated. We tested amplification success rates over a one‐year storage period for DNA extracted from brown bear ( Ursus arctos ) hair samples preserved using silica desiccation and −20 °C freezing. For three nuclear DNA microsatellites, success rates decreased significantly after a six‐month time point, regardless of storage method. For a 1000 bp mitochondrial fragment, a similar decrease occurred after a two‐week time point. Minimizing delays between collection and DNA extraction will maximize success rates for hair‐based noninvasive genetic sampling projects.