Unlocking the Potential of Animal Hair Shafts for Genomic Studies: A Comprehensive Evaluation of DNA Quality.

Yongheng Zhou, Qi Zhang, Peng Gao, Shuhui Yang, Yanchun Xu

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Yongheng ZhouCollege of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China.ORCID 0009-0003-7465-6694

Qi ZhangCollege of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China.

Peng GaoCollege of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China.

Shuhui YangCollege of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China.

Yanchun XuCollege of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China.ORCID 0000-0003-0397-4292

Funding

Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities 2572022DQ03

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Hair is a prominent physiological feature of many animals that can be easily and non-invasively sampled. However, most previous studies have focused on human hair, and animal hair has not been widely used as a DNA source in genetic and evolutionary studies. Analysing the DNA quality of animal hair is more challenging than that of human hair because it varies across different species and is influenced by different storage conditions. To address this gap in our knowledge, this study systematically evaluated the DNA quality of various animal hair samples. Our findings show that lightly medullated hairs, which are typical in carnivores, yield greater amounts of DNA and have better sequencing results than highly medullated hairs, which are typical in ungulate herbivores. Furthermore, the roots and middle hair were more productive than the upper hair parts. Tanning and storage time impair DNA yield and sequencing quality and increase nucleotide damage. Moreover, for certain historical specimens and field samples, genomic DNA was more successfully obtained from hair samples than from skin samples. This study provides data and theoretical support for improving the use of animal hair in genetic research.

Indexed as

genetics and evolutiongenomic DNAhair shaftnon-invasive

Identifiers

PMID40282218

DOI10.3390/biology14040353

PMCPMC12024741

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.