Chamaeleo africanus DNA sequencing purity results and statistics

Conservation of wildlife often depends on high quality molecular data to
establish reliable species identification. Traditional approaches in
extracting material (DNA) for phylogenetic studies on chameleons have
relied on removed, euthanized or preserved/museum specimens, while field
sampling usually takes the form of tail clippings from living individuals
and their subsequent release. In this article, we propose an alternative
to these approaches for field sampling, towards isolation of nuclear and
mitochondrial DNA with oral (buccal) swabs, a methodology already been
demonstrated as effective in other taxa. Options of sampling, storage,
transport, extraction of DNA are presented and the quality and quantity of
extracted material (using venipuncture as a positive control) was
demonstrated as sufficient for downstream applications, including
sequencing thereby presenting a practical field alternative. The
advantages and limitations of this minimally invasive and non-destructive
method applied to Chamaeleo africanus are further discussed.