Ecologists have discovered that a species’ environmental DNA (eDNA) can provide insight into the genetics of entire populations, helping to track and prevent the spread of invasive species. These advances in eDNA also help preserve endangered species, providing insights similar to forensic investigations.
Ecologists have shown that releasing genetic material into their habitat can reveal not only the existence of the species, but also a wide range of information about the genetics of the entire population. This information can help researchers determine the origins of new invasive populations and stop further invasions.
Advances in environmental DNA (eDNA) are also opening up new possibilities for protecting endangered and vulnerable species.
“To preserve biodiversity, we are getting closer to what forensic scientists do every day at crime scenes,” said study co-author David Lodge, director of the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability.
In a new study published in Prosiding National Academy of Sciences, The researchers demonstrated that their methodology was successful in field sampling invasive round gobies throughout the Great Lakes and Finger Lakes in New York.
In their study in the Great Lakes, which involved collecting water and tissue samples from round gobies at 13 locations from Lake Michigan to Oneida Lake, the researchers found that their e-DNA sampling methodology could be used to detect core genetic variations, making it possible to analyzing Genetics. Diversity and differences within species. This information is useful for natural resource managers because it can help them track the source of new invasive populations and prevent further invasions or reduce damage by determining how invasive species move and how to stop them.
This breakthrough could also help scientists understand the demographics of threatened species without having to actually hunt rare and vulnerable animals. Species experiencing population declines can lose genetic diversity, and eDNA allows researchers to detect these declines earlier, according to the study’s first author, Cara Andres.
Andres is a former graduate student in Lodge’s laboratory, and is now a postdoctoral fellow at Washington University in St. Louis. Louis. The paper was co-authored by Lodge and José Andres, Cornell Atkinson faculty fellow and senior research associate who co-directs the Cornell Environmental Facility for Basic DNA and Genomics.
“This is a major step in unlocking the full potential of genomic techniques when applied to aqueous eDNA samples,” said José Andres. “In the near future, I hope this technology will allow us to study the status and health of elusive species. I believe this has huge implications, especially for the marine environment.”
Reference: “Environmental DNA reveals genetic diversity and demography of invasive species in the Laurentian Great Lakes” by Kara J. Andres, David M. Lodge, and José Andres, September 5, 2023, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.2307345120
The study was funded by the US Department of Defense, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Science Foundation, and Cornell Atkinson.
2023-09-16 14:51:01
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