Eastern Pine Snake eDNA Assay: Primer Validation and Field Application

Peyton G. Kinavey developed a novel environmental DNA assay for detecting the eastern pine snake (Pituophis melanoleucus). The dataset, last updated in 2026, describes the development and validation of species-specific primers targeting the ND4 gene region for use in qPCR and end-point PCR. It includes results from specificity and sensitivity tests against heterospecific DNA and application to eDNA from soil samples.

Use Cases

• Validate a species-specific eDNA detection assay based on the described ND4 gene primers.
• Complement traditional snake survey methods like camera traps and visual surveys using the described soil eDNA technique.
• Assess assay sensitivity and specificity for a secretive, semi-fossorial reptile as detailed in the validation results.

Strengths

• Assay was validated for specificity against DNA from heterospecific species.
• Method was applied to eDNA from field-collected soil samples.
• Dataset is openly available under a CC-BY-4.0 license.

Limitations

• Dataset description is provided but specific column-level data and row counts are unknown.
• The primary file format is a PDF (1.6 MB), which may require extraction or manual inspection to access structured data.
• Geographic coverage is inferred as the southeastern United States but specific field sites are not detailed.

Provenance

Source

Peyton G. Kinavey via figshare

Collection Method

Primer development and validation using qPCR and end-point PCR on tissue, shed skin, and environmental DNA from soil samples.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-29 05:58:28.

Geography

Southeastern United States (inferred from species range description).