Skin from Feet of Museum Specimens as a Non-Destructive Source of DNA for Avian Genotyping

Mundy, Nicholas I.; Unitt, Philip; Woodruff, David S.

doi:10.2307/4089075

Cited by 129 publications

(98 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…We sequenced the complete mitochondrial cytochrome b gene as well as the ¢rst 1020 bp (positions 6645^7661 in the Gallus gallus sequence; Desjardins & Morais 1990) of cytochrome oxidase I (COI) for all taxa, following methods previously described for fresh tissue (Nunn & Cracraft 1996;Lee et al 1997) and for tissue taken from museum skins (Mundy et al 1997). Some cytochrome b sequences were taken from previous studies (Helm-Bychowski & Cracraft 1993;Nunn & Cracraft 1996) and COI was sequenced for these taxa as well (in parentheses: GenBank accession numbers for cytochrome b and COI, respectively, and source of tissue (abbreviations: AM, Australian Museum; AMNH/PRS and AMNH/JC, Department of Ornithology frozen tissue collection, American Museum of Natural History; ANSP, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia; ANSP/AM, ¢eld number of Andy Mack (specimens from ANSP); FMNH, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago; NHMLAC, Natural History Museum Los Angeles County; NYZP, New York Zoological Park (Wildlife Conservation Society); QM, Queensland Museum, Brisbane; MOV, Museum of Victoria, Melbourne; SP-J, ¢eld number of Stephen G. Pruett-Jones; SVE, ¢eld number of S. V. Edwards; ZSSD, Zoological Society San Diego)): trumpet manucode, Phonygammus keraudrenii (X74252, AF197826, NHMLAC LAK2010); curl-crested manucode, Manucodia comrii (U15207, AF197827, AM no number, from S. V. Edwards); raggiana bird of paradise, Paradisaea (raggiana) augustaevictoriae (U25738, AF197828, ZSSD A0489241); red bird of paradise, Paradisaea rubra (U25736, AF197829, NYZP, AMNH no number); Wilson's bird of paradise, Diphyllodes respublica (U15200, AF197830, AMNH 0053 from NYZP); king bird of paradise, Cicinnurus regius (U15201, AF197831, ZSSD A0489242); blue jay, Cyanocitta cristata (X74258, AF197832, AMNH/JC); satin bowerbird, Ptilonorhynchus violaceus (X74256, AF197833, QM 3119); and hermit thrush, Catharus guttatus (X74261, AF197834, FMNH 89^285).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

What is not a bird of paradise? Molecular and morphological evidence placesMacgregoriain the Meliphagidae and the Cnemophilinae near the base of the corvoid tree

Cracraft

Feinstein

2000

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

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The cnemophiline`birds of paradise' (Cnemophilinae) and Macgregor's`bird of paradise' (Macgregoria) have traditionally been included in the Paradisaeidae although their relationships within the group have been enigmatic and subject to repeated discussion in the literature. Here we use sequences from two mitochondrial genes, cytochrome b and cytochrome oxidase I, along with a suite of morphological characters, to investigate their relationships to paradisaeids and other members of the passerine Parvorder Corvida. The combined data strongly support the removal of both groups from the birds of paradise: the cnemophilines are basal members of the Corvoidea and Macgregoria is a member of the Meliphagoidea and embedded in the honeyeaters (Meliphagidae) close to the genus Melipotes. The amount of sequence divergence among basal passeriforms and members of the Corvida, as well as available fossil evidence for Australian corvidans, suggest that cnemophilines represent an ancient lineage within the corvoid radiation. Because cnemophilines and Macgregoria have been placed at the base of the paradisaeid tree, hypotheses of morphological, behavioural and ecological character-state transformations within the family will require reanalysis.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

What is not a bird of paradise? Molecular and morphological evidence placesMacgregoriain the Meliphagidae and the Cnemophilinae near the base of the corvoid tree

Cracraft

Feinstein

2000

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

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“…Of these, 23 were museum specimens from the California Academy of Sciences, the American Museum of Natural History and the British Natural History Museum (Electronic Appendix Section 1). Museum specimens were sampled by cutting a small (approximately 3 !2 mm) piece of tissue from the side of the largest toe pad using a sterile scalpel (Mundy & Woodruff 1997). Field-captured birds were sampled from different expeditions and different parts of islands where possible.…”

Section: Methods (A) Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat selection and ecological speciation in Galápagos warbler finches ( Certhidea olivacea and Certhidea fusca )

Tonnis

Grant

et al. 2005

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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We investigated phylogeographic divergence among populations of Galápagos warbler finches. Their broad distribution, lack of phenotypic differentiation and low levels of genetic divergence make warbler finches an appropriate model to study speciation in allopatry. A positive relationship between genetic and geographical distances is expected for island taxa. Warbler finches actually showed a negative isolation by distance relationship, causing us to reject the hypothesis of distance-limited dispersal. An alternative hypothesis, that dispersal is limited by habitat similarity, was supported. We found a positive correlation between genetic distances and differences in maximum elevation among islands, which is an indicator of ecological similarity. MtDNA sequence variation revealed monophyletic support for two distinct species. Certhidea olivacea have recently dispersed among larger central islands, while some Certhidea fusca have recently dispersed to small islands at opposite ends of the archipelago. We conclude that females have chosen to breed on islands with habitats similar to their natal environment. Habitat selection is implicated as an important component of speciation of warbler finches, which is the earliest known divergence of the adaptive radiation of Darwin's finches. These results suggest that small populations can harbour cryptic but biologically meaningful variation that may affect longer term evolutionary processes.

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“…Different preservation methods can, however, create substantial DNA degradation and PCR inhibition [48], which causes a high variance in DNA quality among samples. Superior DNA can be extracted from claws on hides of mammalian specimens [49] or from toe pads of birds [78].…”

Section: Hides and Skinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Back to the future: museum specimens in population genetics

Wandeler

Hoeck

Keller

2007

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

544

523

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Museums and other natural history collections (NHC) worldwide house millions of specimens. With the advent of molecular genetic approaches these collections have become the source of many fascinating population studies in conservation genetics that contrast historical with present-day genetic diversity. Recent developments in molecular genetics and genomics and the associated statistical tools have opened up the further possibility of studying evolutionary change directly. As we discuss here, we believe that NHC specimens provide a largely underutilized resource for such investigations. However, because DNA extracted from NHC samples is degraded, analyses of such samples are technically demanding and many potential pitfalls exist. Thus, we propose a set of guidelines that outline the steps necessary to begin genetic investigations using specimens from NHC. Museums and other natural history collections (NHC) worldwide house millions of specimens. With the advent of molecular genetic approaches these collections have become the source of many fascinating population studies in conservation genetics that contrast historical with present-day genetic diversity. Recent developments in molecular genetics and genomics and the associated statistical tools have opened up the further possibility of studying evolutionary change directly. As we discuss here, we believe that NHC specimens provide a largely underutilized resource for such investigations. However, because DNA extracted from NHC samples is degraded, analyses of such samples are technically demanding and many potential pitfalls exist. Thus, we propose a set of guidelines that outline the steps necessary to begin genetic investigations using specimens from NHC. IntroductionGiven that evolution is change over time, documenting and understanding temporal patterns has long been at the heart of evolutionary studies. In disciplines such as palaeontology, inferences about evolutionary processes are drawn from the analyses of temporal patterns in the fossil record. Similarly, our understanding of microevolutionary processes (i.e. changes in gene frequencies over time) has often involved the analyses of records taken over several years; Dobzhanksy's [1] early studies of microevolution among Drosophila used this approach, a tradition that continues among students of this model organism today [2]. However, such microevolutionary studies were often limited to certain taxa and questions because the time available to document temporal changes was often limited to a few generations. How can these limitations be overcome? Long term studies, running over several decades, are one possibility and they are yielding fascinating insights, for example, into the role of reinforcement and character displacement in adaptive radiation and speciation [3,4]. Another approach, which gives longer time series, is to extend the data back in time using well preserved fossil samples or specimens from natural history collections (NHC). Here, we review the use of specimens from NHC for the ...

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Skin from Feet of Museum Specimens as a Non-Destructive Source of DNA for Avian Genotyping

Cited by 129 publications

References 10 publications

What is not a bird of paradise? Molecular and morphological evidence placesMacgregoriain the Meliphagidae and the Cnemophilinae near the base of the corvoid tree

What is not a bird of paradise? Molecular and morphological evidence placesMacgregoriain the Meliphagidae and the Cnemophilinae near the base of the corvoid tree

Habitat selection and ecological speciation in Galápagos warbler finches ( Certhidea olivacea and Certhidea fusca )

Back to the future: museum specimens in population genetics

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