Does Dog Poop Have Any DNA? Can it really be tested?Many people question weather dog poop DNA testing companies are legit, because they don't believe there is any DNA in dog poop. In order to answer the question, we first must understand that all living things have DNA because that is the blueprint for cells to duplicate and continue the life cycle. So DNA exists at all levels from simple single cell bacteria to more complex cells that make up the human physiology. Therefore, dog poop or human poop or any animal poop does in fact contain a vast amount of DNA that can be analyzed. But companies like Mr Dog Poop Inc of Tampa Florida are genotyping the host DNA and not the bacterial DNA found in the dog poop. This process requires DNA from the actual dog which is normally present in the outside layer of the dog poop. This is a result of the poop being passed through the dog's intestine and colon. The cells containing the DNA are separated from the unusable portions of the fecal sample. Then the DNA is removed from the cells and processed using standard genotyping processes. The strands of DNA are protected inside cells, so even the severe enzymes and bacteria present in the poop do not immediately impact the dog's DNA contained in the epithelial cells now on the outside of the poop surface. This allows the DNA lab sufficient time to remove the cells and generate a digital fingerprint of the host's DNA. While fining dog owners for leaving poop my be a relatively new concept, using poop DNA to identify animals has been in use for decades and is a very common practice in studying many wild animal species. The technology is so common, there are many commercially available kits for isolating DNA from fecal samples and further genotyping kits such as "StockMarks® for Dogs Genotyping Kit, Catalog number 4307481". So not only is there an abundance of DNA in dog poop, but the science that is being used to catch the guilty dog owners is being used daily by scientists and genetics labs across the globe. So dog owners beware, you can easily be identified by your dogs DNA left on it's poop. |
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