Sparing spiders: faeces as a non-invasive source of DNA

Spiders are important arthropod predators in many terrestrial ecosystems, and molecular tools have boosted our ability to investigate this taxon, which can be difficult to study with conventional methods. Nonetheless, it has typically been necessary to kill spiders to obtain their DNA for molecular applications, especially when studying their diet.

We successfully tested the novel approach of employing spider faeces as a non-invasive source of DNA for species identification and diet analysis. Although the overall concentration of DNA in the samples was very low, consumer DNA, suitable for species identification, was amplified from 84% of the faecal pellets collected from lycosid spiders. Moreover, the most important prey types detected in the gut content of the lycosids were also amplified from the faecal samples.

The ability to amplify DNA from spider faeces with specific and general primers suggests that this sample type can be used for diagnostic PCR and sequence-based species and prey identification such as DNA barcoding and next generation sequencing, respectively. These findings demonstrate that faeces provide a non-invasive alternative to full-body DNA extracts for molecular studies on spiders when killing or injuring the animal is not an option.