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24 July 2016 Overcoming PCR Inhibition During DNA-Based Gut Content Analysis of Ants
Hannah J. Penn, Eric G. Chapman, James D. Harwood
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Abstract

Generalist predators play an important role in many terrestrial systems, especially within agricultural settings, and ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) often constitute important linkages of these food webs, as they are abundant and influential in these ecosystems. Molecular gut content analysis provides a means of delineating food web linkages of ants based on the presence of prey DNA within their guts. Although this method can provide insight, its use on ants has been limited, potentially due to inhibition when amplifying gut content DNA. We designed a series of experiments to determine those ant organs responsible for inhibition and identified variation in inhibition among three species (Tetramorium caespitum (L.), Solenopsis invicta Buren, and Camponotus floridanus (Buckley)). No body segment, other than the gaster, caused significant inhibition. Following dissection, we determined that within the gaster, the digestive tract and crop cause significant levels of inhibition. We found significant differences in the frequency of inhibition between the three species tested, with inhibition most evident in T. caespitum. The most effective method to prevent inhibition before DNA extraction was to exude crop contents and crop structures onto UV-sterilized tissue. However, if extracted samples exhibit inhibition, addition of bovine serum albumin to PCR reagents will overcome this problem. These methods will circumvent gut content inhibition within selected species of ants, thereby allowing more detailed and reliable studies of ant food webs. As little is known about the prevalence of this inhibition in other species, it is recommended that the protocols in this study are used until otherwise shown to be unnecessary.

© The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com
Hannah J. Penn, Eric G. Chapman, and James D. Harwood "Overcoming PCR Inhibition During DNA-Based Gut Content Analysis of Ants," Environmental Entomology 45(5), 1255-1261, (24 July 2016). https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvw090
Received: 20 April 2016; Accepted: 28 June 2016; Published: 24 July 2016
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KEYWORDS
Camponotus floridanus
Food web
predator–prey interaction
Solenopsis invicta
Tetramorium caespitum
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