Data from: From the field to the lab: best practices for field preservation of bat specimens for molecular analyses

Studies in molecular ecology depend on field-collected samples for genetic information, and the tissue sampled and preservation conditions strongly affect the quality of the DNA obtained. DNA yields from different tissue types have seldom been compared, and the relative performance of storage media has never been directly tested, even though these media may influence DNA degradation under field conditions. We analyzed DNA yield from buccal swabs and wing punches harvested from live bats using nucleic acid quantification as well as quantitative PCR for a single-copy nuclear locus. We also compared DNA yields from wing tissue preserved in three media: ethanol, NaCl-saturated dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and silica desiccant. Wing punches yielded more total DNA than did buccal swabs, and wing tissues preserved in silica beads yielded significantly more total and nuclear DNA than those preserved in DMSO or ethanol. These results show that tissue type and preservation media strongly influence the quantity of DNA obtained from non-lethal genetic samples, and based on these effects we provide recommendations for field collection of tissues for genetic analyses.分子生态学研究依赖野外采集的样本获取遗传信息，而采样组织类型与保存条件对所获得的DNA质量具有显著影响。目前鲜有研究比较不同组织类型的DNA提取量，且从未有研究直接验证各类保存介质的相对性能——尽管这些介质在野外条件下可能会影响DNA降解。本研究针对从活体蝙蝠采集的颊拭子与翼膜打孔样本，通过核酸定量以及针对单拷贝核基因座的定量聚合酶链式反应分析了其DNA提取量；同时对比了以乙醇、氯化钠饱和二甲基亚砜（dimethyl sulfoxide, DMSO）及硅胶干燥剂三种介质保存的翼组织的DNA提取量。研究结果显示，翼膜打孔样本的总DNA提取量高于颊拭子；而采用硅胶珠保存的翼组织，其总DNA与核DNA提取量均显著高于以DMSO或乙醇保存的样本。上述结果表明，组织类型与保存介质会显著影响非致死性遗传样本的DNA获取量；基于上述发现，我们为用于遗传分析的野外组织采集工作提供了针对性建议。