Study of Methods for DNA Extractions from Feathers

Abstract

Feathers have been used as a source of DNA for two decades. Feathers are made of keratinized cells which can make obtaining DNA from them difficult. This study compared three established methods of extracting DNA from feathers to ascertain if any produced a greater quantity of DNA. Each of the methods were conducted at five different time intervals (n=45). Each was a modification of the Qiagen DNeasy DNA extraction kit. A two way ANOVA determined if there was any differences among times or methods, and showed a significance difference among methods (F= 45.67, P < 0.001) but not times. A box-and-whisker plot was used to ascertain the most effective method. A second experiment employed the superior method to see if a trend of increasing DNA concentration with increasing time, suggested by first experiment's data, was real. This experiment was powered up to assure sufficient ability to detect differences among 3 sample sets if they existed (n=45). These results came back with no significance. This research found the extraction method used in Dr. Lisette Wait’s laboratory superior and has resulted in a protocol change for all extractions done in Dr. Melanie Culver's ancient DNA laboratory at the University of Arizona.