ScienceAsia 20 (1994): 031-041 |doi: 10.2306/scienceasia1513-1874.1994.20.031

DNA EXTRACTION, AMPLIFICATION, AND DIRECT SEQUENCING FROM HORNBILL FEATHERS

PHILLIP A. MORIN^a, JEANNE MESSIER^b AND DAVID S. WOODRUFF^b

ABSTRACT: Two methods for extracting DNA from feathers for non-invasive multilocus genotyping of birds are described. DNA was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction and the double-stranded products were sequenced directly without the need for cloning. One method uses a single extraction step with Chelex as the extraction medium, thus reducing opportunities for contamination, and eliminating the need to use organic solvents and proteinases. It constitutes a simple, fast and relatively inexpensive method of DNA-level genotyping. Partial mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences of 7 species of hornbill (Aves: Bucerotidae) and a warbler are reported to demonstrate the method's potential for phylogenetic and genealogical analyses involving free-ranging birds and museum speCImens.

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a Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, U.S.A.
b Department of Biology and Center for Molecular Genetics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0116, U.S.A.

Received February 27,1994