WHO’S THE DADDY? –
STEP BY STEP HOW IT’S DONE
Since chimpanzee females usually mate with more than one male, only
genetic testing will confidently determine who the fathers of offspring
are. Follow us from start to finish see if we can get from poop to paternity.
STEP 1: GETTING A DNA SAMPLE
Each living being has genetic material, called DNA, which is unique
to it as an individual organism. A tissue or blood sample is the best
source of obtaining cells filled with DNA to use in a genetic study,
but since we do not want to disturb the chimpanzees in order to collect
those types of samples, we have to find another source. Animals shed
cells in other ways, such as when they lose hair. But we can also get
cheek cells called buccal cells that are sloughed off into saliva and spit away
with food wadges, and… we can also get intestinal cells that are
shed along with poop! At Gombe, field assistants actually collect chimpanzee
feces when they see a particular chimp leave a sample, and it is stored
in a liquid that preserves and protects the DNA. The samples are then
shipped to the laboratory of our collaborator, Dr. Beatrice Hahn at
the University of Alabama-Birmingham, for storage and analysis.
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