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以获取遗传信息，采样组织类型与保存条件对所得DNA的质量具有显著影响。当前学界鲜有研究比较不同组织类型的DNA产出量，且即便保存介质可能在野外条件下影响DNA降解，其相对性能也从未得到直接验证。本研究采用核酸定量法与针对单拷贝核基因座的定量PCR，分析了从活体蝙蝠采集的颊拭子与翼膜打孔样本的DNA产出量。同时，本研究还对比了三种保存介质处理的翼组织的DNA产出量：乙醇、氯化钠饱和二甲基亚砜（dimethyl sulfoxide, DMSO）以及硅胶干燥剂。结果显示，翼膜打孔样本的总DNA产出量高于颊拭子；而以硅胶颗粒保存的翼组织，其总DNA与核DNA产出量均显著高于经二甲基亚砜或乙醇保存的样本。上述结果表明，组织类型与保存介质对非致死性遗传样本的DNA获取量具有强烈影响，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科学建议。