Feces of animals that forage on nectar and fruit, including many species of bats, often contain DNA that is low in quality and quantity. We developed an approach based on DNA from feces gathered passively to generate microsatellite data for individual lesser long-nosed bats (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae), which are important pollinators for columnar cacti and agave across much of Mexico and in the southwestern U.S. We collected feces from roosts near the U.S-Mexico border and developed a two-step amplification approach to characterize five highly polymorphic microsatellite loci from fecal DNA. Addition of a multiplex PCR step improved amplification success and conserved DNA extracts with a minimal increase in cost. In our initial screening of 433 samples, five focal loci distinguished individuals reliably, with a probability of identity (i.e., the probability of two unrelated individuals having the same microsatellite profile by chance) of 7.5E-09. Repeated analyses revealed a genotyping error rate < 2%. We explore the benefits and limits of our approach for population studies of lesser long-nosed bats and other nectivorous and frugivorous species that provide key ecosystem services and are often of conservation concern.

以花蜜和水果为食的动物（包括许多种类的蝙蝠）的粪便中通常含有质量和数量都很低的 DNA。我们开发了一种基于被动收集的粪便 DNA 的方法，为个体小长鼻蝙蝠 ( Leptonycteris yerbabuenae ) 生成微卫星数据，这些蝙蝠是墨西哥大部分地区和美国西南部柱状仙人掌和龙舌兰的重要传粉媒介。在美国-墨西哥边境附近，开发了一种两步扩增方法来表征粪便 DNA 中的 5 个高度多态性微卫星位点。添加多重 PCR 步骤可提高扩增成功率并保留 DNA 提取物，同时将成本增加降至最低。在我们对 433 个样本的初步筛选中，五个焦点位点可靠地区分了个体，其身份概率（即两个不相关的个​​体偶然具有相同微卫星图谱的概率）为 7.5E-09。重复分析显示基因分型错误率 < 2%。我们探索了我们对小长鼻蝙蝠和其他食蜜和果食物种进行种群研究的方法的好处和局限性，这些物种提供了关键的生态系统服务，并且经常受到保护关注。