Sample collection and DNA extraction
In total, 14 samples were collected, including six (three males and
three females) from Huangshan, five (three males and two females) from
Guiyang City, and three (two males and one female) from Yongxing County.
All individuals were healthy adults. Upon capture, the snakes were
immediately placed in sterilized plastic collection boxes overnight to
collect feces using sterile disposable gloves. The feces were collected
in 2-mL collection tubes containing DNA preservation solution and placed
in liquid nitrogen for rapid freezing, with subsequent preservation in a
−80 °C refrigerator at the Yibin Key Laboratory of Zoological Diversity
and Ecological Conservation, Yibin University (YBU). The snakes were
released at the collection sites after obtaining fecal samples. Genomic
DNA was extracted from the gut contents by a commercial company
(Novogene, Beijing, China) utilizing a DNA extraction kit (Catalog
number: DP328) following the provided instructions. The Institutional
Animal Care and Use Committee at Yibin University (YBU2020007).