Field-collected buccal swab samples yield viable DNA for reduced representation genome sequencing applications

Buccal swabs offer a minimally invasive DNA sampling method for wildlife but are often considered suboptimal for genomic applications due to low and variable DNA yields. This limitation has restricted their use in reduced-representation sequencing approaches, which typically require relatively high DNA input mass. We evaluated the utility of buccal swabs collected from Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Dryobates borealis) nestlings as a source of DNA for genotyping-by-sequencing. Extracted DNA mass range