Evaluating the use of non‐invasive hair sampling and ddRAD to characterize populations of endangered species: Application to a peripheral population of the European mink

The application of next‐generation sequencing (NGS) to non‐invasive samples is one of the most promising methods in conservation genomics, but these types of samples present significant challenges for NGS. The European mink (Mustela lutreola) is critically endangered throughout its range. However, important aspects such as census size and inbreeding remain still unknown in many populations, so it is crucial to develop new methods to monitor this species. In this work, we placed hair tubes along riverbanks in a border area of the Iberian population, which allowed the genetic identification of 76 European mink hair samples. We then applied a reduced representation genomic sequencing (ddRAD) technique to a subset of these samples to test whether we could extract sufficient genomic information from them. We show that several problems with the DNA, including contamination, fragmentation, oxidation, and possibly sample mixing, affected the samples. Using various bioinformatic techniques to re...

将下一代测序（next-generation sequencing，NGS）应用于非侵入性样本，是保护基因组学领域最具前景的研究方向之一，但此类样本也给NGS带来了显著挑战。欧洲鼬（Mustela lutreola）在其所有分布范围内均处于极危状态。然而，诸多种群的种群数量普查与近交情况等关键信息仍未明确，因此开发针对该物种的监测新方法至关重要。本研究沿伊比利亚种群分布边界区域的河岸布设毛发采样管，成功完成76份欧洲鼬毛发样本的遗传鉴定。随后，我们从其中选取部分样本，采用简化基因组测序（reduced representation genomic sequencing，ddRAD）技术，以验证能否从中提取足够的基因组信息。研究结果显示，DNA污染、片段化、氧化乃至可能的样本混淆等诸多问题，均对样本造成了影响。我们借助多种生物信息学技术进行重新……