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DNA Metabarcoding Can Refine Diet Profiles

To build much more detailed diet profiles for each herbivore species, researchers use a technique called DNA metabarcoding.

Additional Information: DNA barcoding involves sequencing a region of DNA (the barcode) from a single sample and matching that sequence to a reference database of barcode sequences. The reference database (also called a library) is established over several years by many scientists who collect, catalogue, and sequence the barcodes of different species of plants. A match reveals the identity of that sample. DNA metabarcoding expands this technique to analyze many sequences from multiple samples at once.)

It involves the following steps:

  1. Collect animal dung, which contains some animal cells and undigested cells from any plants the animal ate.
  2. Isolate DNA from the dung.
  3. Match the DNA to a reference library of plant DNA to identify the plants the animal ate.
  4. Repeat the process with dung samples from many animal species to build a diet profile for each species.