학술논문
Molecular assays to reliably detect and quantify predation on a forest pest in bats faeces.
Document Type
Academic Journal
Author
Baroja U; Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, Faculty of Science, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Leioa, Basque Country, Spain. unai.baroja@ehu.eus.; Garin I; Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, Faculty of Science, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Leioa, Basque Country, Spain.; Vallejo N; Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, Faculty of Science, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Leioa, Basque Country, Spain.; Caro A; Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country, Spain.; Ibáñez C; Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), Avenida Américo Vespucio 26, 41092, Seville, Spain.; Basso A; Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell'Università, 10, 35020, Legnaro, Padova, Italy.; Goiti U; Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, Faculty of Science, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Leioa, Basque Country, Spain.
Source
Publisher: Nature Publishing Group Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101563288 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 2045-2322 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 20452322 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Sci Rep Subsets: MEDLINE
Subject
Language
English
Abstract
Targeted molecular methods such as conventional PCR (cPCR) and quantitative PCR (qPCR), combined with species-specific primers and probes, are widely applied for pest species detection. Besides, the potential of qPCR to quantify DNA in samples makes it an invaluable molecular tool to infer the predation levels on specific prey by analysing predators' stools. Nevertheless, studies on the diet of bats failed to find any empirical relationship, and it remains to be evaluated. Thus, we developed and evaluated two species-specific PCR assays to detect and quantify DNA of a major forest pest, the pine processionary, Thaumetopoea pityocampa, in bats' faeces. Further, we empirically compared a range of different known DNA concentrations (input) of the target species mixed with mocks and bat faecal samples against DNA abundances yielded by qPCR (output) for a quantitative assessment. Overall, cPCR showed a lower detection rate than qPCR, but augmenting the replicate effort from one to three replicates led to a greater increase in the detection rate of the cPCR (from 57 to 80%) than the qPCR (from 90 to 99%). The quantitative experiment results showed a highly significant correlation between the input and output DNA concentrations (t = 10.84, p < 0.001) with a mean slope value of 1.05, indicating the accuracy of our qPCR assay to estimate DNA abundance of T. pityocampa in bat faeces. The framework of this study can be taken as a model to design similar assays applicable to other species of interest, such as agricultural pests or insects of public health concern.
(© 2022. The Author(s).)
(© 2022. The Author(s).)