Version 1
: Received: 2 February 2024 / Approved: 2 February 2024 / Online: 2 February 2024 (14:18:52 CET)
How to cite:
Stamatoyannopoulos, G.; Papayannopoulou, T. Environmental DNA: Enhancing Species Detection and Study Comparability with Synthetic DNA Tracers. Preprints2024, 2024020158. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202402.0158.v1
Stamatoyannopoulos, G.; Papayannopoulou, T. Environmental DNA: Enhancing Species Detection and Study Comparability with Synthetic DNA Tracers. Preprints 2024, 2024020158. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202402.0158.v1
Stamatoyannopoulos, G.; Papayannopoulou, T. Environmental DNA: Enhancing Species Detection and Study Comparability with Synthetic DNA Tracers. Preprints2024, 2024020158. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202402.0158.v1
APA Style
Stamatoyannopoulos, G., & Papayannopoulou, T. (2024). Environmental DNA: Enhancing Species Detection and Study Comparability with Synthetic DNA Tracers. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202402.0158.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Stamatoyannopoulos, G. and Thalia Papayannopoulou. 2024 "Environmental DNA: Enhancing Species Detection and Study Comparability with Synthetic DNA Tracers" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202402.0158.v1
Abstract
Environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling has emerged as a powerful approach for monitoring biodiversity in the context of diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and has broad potential for both environmental surveys and species management. eDNA studies focusing on plant and animal species have capitalized on analytical methodologies developed originally for metagenomic studies of microorganisms, and on technological improvements in sample collection. However, while eDNA studies have proliferated rapidly, efforts to standardize sampling and analytical methods are still nascent. Critically, fundamental data concerning the distribution and persistence of eDNA in different ecological contexts are lacking, complicating both confidence in species detection and comparability between studies. We propose that key deficits could be addressed by using well-designed synthetic DNA standards or tracers, which are widely used in fields ranging from medical diagnostics to hydrology. In-field application of a standardized mixture of barcoded synthetic DNA fragments of varying lengths and concentrations that are recovered concommitantly with eDNA sampling should provide critical yet missing data on environmental DNA distribution and turnover, as well as an internal molecular standard to enhance both species detection and comparability between eDNA studies.
Keywords
eDNA; synthetic DNA; metabarcoding; DNA tracers; molecular standards; in-field controls
Subject
Environmental and Earth Sciences, Environmental Science
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
