Ahum... Please inform me if the posting of a publicly available abstract is infringing copyright, in which case I would offer my apologies:
Journal of Heredity Advance Access originally published online on March 2, 2005
Journal of Heredity 2005 96(4):417-423; doi:10.1093/jhered/esi036
© The American Genetic Association. 2005. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email:
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Brief Communication
Genetic Screening for Prey in the Gut Contents from a Giant Squid (Architeuthis sp.)
B. E. Deagle, S. N. Jarman, D. Pemberton, and N. J. Gales
From the Zoology Department, University of Tasmania, GPO Box 252-05, Hobart, 7001, Australia (Deagle); Australian Antarctic Division, Channel Highway, Kingston, 7050, Australia (Deagle, Jarman, and Gales); and Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, GPO Box 1164, Hobart, 7001, Australia (Pemberton)
Giant squids (Architeuthis sp.) remain mysterious; they have evaded observation and are rarely taken from their deep sea habitat. Information on the diet of Architeuthis is scarce due to the limited number of specimens with morphologically recognizable remains in their digestive tracts. We explored the use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods for detection of DNA in the prey remains and amorphous slurry from an Architeuthis gut sample. The DNA region amplified varied in size, allowing separation of fish and squid components. Sequence comparisons identified fish prey as Macruronus novaezelandiae. Isolation of Architeuthis DNA from an ingested tentacle and the presence of chitin fragments indicate cannibalism occurs in giant squid. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis was used to screen for less common DNA types, revealing a high frequency of PCR-generated false alleles, but no additional prey species.
PS: for those unaware of nomenclature, Macruronus novaezelandiae is indeed hoki