Valsecchi E, Glockner-Ferrari D, Ferrari M, Amos W
Zoology Department, Cambridge, UK.
Mol Ecol. 1998 Oct;7(10):1419-22. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-294x.1998.00446.x.
Sloughed whale skin contains enough DNA for genetic analysis, and offers a non-intrusive method for collecting tissue. Here, we examine the efficiency of sloughed skin sampling using 1460 samples collected from free-ranging humpback whales. Samples were sexed and screened for up to 10 microsatellite markers. The vast majority of samples appear genetically compatible with field observations. About 1% of groups revealed more genotypes than whales, but we argue that this is more likely to be due to unobserved whales than to contamination. Sloughed skin sampling is particularly effective when applied to active groups and offers a viable alternative to biopsy darting in regions where darting is either not permitted or otherwise undesirable.
脱落的鲸皮含有足够用于基因分析的DNA，并提供了一种非侵入性的组织采集方法。在此，我们使用从自由游动的座头鲸身上采集的1460个样本，检验了脱落皮肤采样的效率。对样本进行了性别鉴定，并筛选了多达10个微卫星标记。绝大多数样本在基因上与实地观察结果相符。约1%的群体显示出的基因型比鲸鱼数量多，但我们认为这更可能是由于未被观察到的鲸鱼，而不是污染所致。当应用于活跃群体时，脱落皮肤采样特别有效，并且在不允许进行活检穿刺或活检穿刺不可行的地区，它提供了一种可行的替代活检穿刺的方法。
