title: A Low-Cost Method of Skin Swabbing for the Collection of DNA Samples from Small Laboratory Fish.
abstract: Fin clipping of live fish under anesthesia is widely used to collect samples for DNA extraction. An alternative, potentially less invasive, approach involves obtaining samples by swabbing the skin of nonanesthetized fish. However, this method has yet to be widely adopted for use in laboratory studies in the biological and biomedical sciences. Here, we compare DNA samples from zebrafish Danio rerio and three-spined sticklebacks Gasterosteus aculeatus collected via fin clipping and skin swabbing techniques, and test a range of DNA extraction methods, including commercially available kits and a lower-cost, in-house method. We verify the method for polymerase chain reaction analysis, and examine the potential risk of cross contamination between individual fish that are netted together. We show that swabbing, which may not require the use of anesthesia or analgesics, offers a reliable alternative to fin clipping. Further work is now required to determine the relative effects of fin clipping and swabbing on the stress responses and subsequent health of fish, and hence the potential of swabbing as a refinement to existing DNA sampling procedures.
authors: Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology, University of Leicester , Leicester, United Kingdom .
authors: Carl
authors: C
authors: Breacker
authors: Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology, University of Leicester , Leicester, United Kingdom .
authors: Iain
authors: I
authors: Barber
authors: Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology, University of Leicester , Leicester, United Kingdom .
authors: William H J
authors: WH
authors: Norton
authors: Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology, University of Leicester , Leicester, United Kingdom .
authors: Jonathan R
authors: JR
authors: McDearmid
authors: Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology, University of Leicester , Leicester, United Kingdom .
authors: Ceinwen A
authors: CA
authors: Tilley
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000830:Animals, Laboratory; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000379:methods*; D012867:Skin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D023701:Smegmamorpha / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development
chemical_list: D004247:DNA
keywords: 3Rs; Danio rerio; Gasterosteus aculeatus; fin clip; genotyping; stickleback; swabbing; zebrafish