Molecular Analysis for Investigating Dietary Habits: Genetic Screening of Prey Items in Scat and Stomach Contents of Leopard Cats Prionailurus bengalensis euptilurus

Background Among the Felidae recorded on the Korean Peninsula, the tiger Panthera tigris , leopard Panthera pardus , and lynx Lynx lynx are now endangered, while the leopard cat Prionailurus bengalensis , the remaining feline, is a globally threatened carnivore. Herein, we investigated the dietary habits of leopard cats by analyzing prey DNA in scat and stomach contents. We also tested whether prey DNA in scat samples collected from natural habitats could accurately identify prey species from stomach contents. Results Following a visual analysis of stomach contents from 11 leopard cats killed on the roads, a molecular analysis of the cytochrome b gene of the mitochondrial genome of 56 subsamples of the stomach contents enabled the identification of 7 mammalian species, 1 bird species, and 1 amphibian species. In the analysis of several blind subsamples (e.g., bones) isolated from fecal samples, five prey species were identified using control markers in a denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) technique and an additional sequencing analysis. Conclusions Our results suggest that the DGGE analysis can serve as a potential tool to study diets, raising the possibility of a non-invasive approach for studying dietary habits of leopard cats.