Development of an eDNA metabarcoding tool for surveying the world’s largest amphibian

Due to the overexploitation of farming, as well as habitat destruction, the wild population of Chinese giant salamander (CGS) Andrias davidianus, a species with seven genetically distinct lineages, has decreased by over 80% in the past 70 years. Traditional survey methods have proven to be unsuitable for finding this rare and elusive species. We evaluated the efficacy of environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling to detect CGS indirectly from its aquatic environment. We developed several species-specific primer sets; validated their specificity and sensitivity; and assessed their utility in silico, in the laboratory, and at two field sites harboring released farm-bred CGS. We detected the presence of CGS DNA by using polymerase chain reaction and Sanger sequencing. We also sequenced an amplicon mixture of seven haplotype-represented samples using high-throughput sequencing. Our eDNA methods could detect the presence of CGS at moderate densities reported across its range, proving them as a cost-effective way to establish broad-scale patterns of occupancy for CGS. In addition, our primers enabled the detection of mitochondrial lineage mixture or introduced individuals from geographically isolated populations of CGS.