Reconstructing a herbivore's diet using a novel rbcL DNA mini-barcode for plants.

ABSTRACT: Next Generation Sequencing and the application of metagenomic analyses can be used to answer questions about animal diet choice and study the consequences of selective foraging by herbivores. The quantification of herbivore diet choice with respect to native versus exotic plant species is particularly relevant given concerns of invasive species establishment and their effects on ecosystems. While increased abundance of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) appears to correlate with increased incidence of invasive plant species, data supporting a causal link is scarce. We used a metabarcoding approach (PCR amplicons of the plant rbcL gene) to survey the diet of white-tailed deer (fecal samples), from a forested site in Warren County, Virginia with a comprehensive plant sp

SUBMITTER: Erickson DL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5434754 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature