Defining specificity in DNA detection of wildlife: Response to Goncalves et al. 'The risks of using 'species-specific' PCR assays in wildlife research: The case of red fox (Vulpes vulpes) identification in Tasmania'

摘要

Goncalves et al. [1] report an examination of the PCR-based species identification test used to detect foxes from faecal material in the ongoing fox eradication programme in Tasmania. The authors rightly point out that poor design in screening methods may lead to false negative or false positive results and they sought to "better evaluate the specificity of the putatively fox-specific pair of PCR primers" as reported in Berry et al. [2] and applied by Sarre et al. [3]. We welcome the scrutiny of the test as DNA-based tests are being used more frequently in wildlife detection [4] and yet estimation of test specificity and sensitivity is rarely attempted. Unfortunately, Goncalves et al. [1 ] have undertaken an analysis of an incomplete imitation of the test we applied.