Genomic-scale nucleotide sequencing of DNA isolated from feces.

Genomic-level analyses of DNA from non-invasive sources would facilitate powerful conservation and evolutionary studies in natural populations of endangered species. However, quantity- and quality-based challenges of non-invasive DNA have precluded such work. HEre we describe a DNA capture approach modified for fecal samples that facilitates efficient and highly accurate resequencing of megabases of specified nuclear genomic regions. The method was validated by comparing fecal and blood DNA results for six chimpanzee individuals across > 1.5 megabases of chromosome 21, chromosome X and the complete mitochondrial genome.