Environmental DNA (eDNA) and How It Can Help Protect Wildlife
We know that humans are responsible for the destruction of the natural ecosystem. Over the past few years, disruption has increased at an alarming rate. Wild populations have decreased by a tremendous value. Humans can overturn the damage only by limiting the world's commercial operations. The global tracking of population sizes of different species shows an average drop of 68% from 1970 to 2016. Also, the freshwater species show a decline of 84% on average. As humans expand into once-wildlife habitats, the devastation of different species continues. It is high time that humans begin restoring the broken bond with nature. eDNA analysis seems to be a successful way to prevent this. The conservation attempts using eDNA rely on observing communities to get reliable population size estimations. With each passing year, scientists find the application of eDNA to be more prosperous. The technique has helped researchers to uncover a plethora of hidden species.
What is eDNA?
Nuclear or mitochondrial DNA left behind by an organism in the environment is known as environmental DNA. Without even seeing a species, scientists can perceive their presence by DNA collection. These traces can be collected from soil, water, or air samples. Origins of eDNA include hair, skin, mucous, and feces. One soil sample can contain the genetic material of all the organisms living and passing through that region. Samples are examined in laboratories by extracting the DNA. In aquatic habitats, eDNA is thinned and disseminated by different hydrological processes. But depending on the ecological situation, they last for about 7-21 days. Environmental DNA has been recovered from antique and present-day specimens. It comprises single species discovery and studies of various habitats.
Benefits of Analyzing eDNA
As per the threatened species 2020 facts, approximately a third of the Red List populations are at peril of extermination. This extinction is partly caused due to urban industrialization and modernization. Knowing whether extinct species are present in an area is an essential component of environmental management. Before beginning an industrial process, survey teams run a check in a region. Visual features help teams to confirm the absence or presence of invasive species. However, these studies can be time-consuming and expensive. They need a lot of manual labor and plenty of visits to a particular location. The process might disturb or harm the species relevant to scientific interests. Human errors are also possible by declaring a false negative for a specific species. This situation can occur due to sampling at the wrong place or the wrong moment. Customs using eDNA may provide fast, economical, and patterned data collection about species populations. eDNA provides an attractive option for aquatic inventory and monitoring programs for small, hidden, rare, and other hard-to-detect species. eDNA can prove to be efficient for advanced disclosure of marine invasive species.?
An Emerging tool in Conservation
Imagine being a scientist who is trying to detect a species that is notoriously hard to find. The solution will be to look for footprints, droppings, or setting up hidden cameras. Researchers are already employing eDNA to study animals in all sorts of ways. As all species leave their DNA behind in saliva, feces, skin, and hair, scientists can track them. The use of this environmental DNA is a fast-growing discipline of biodiversity preservation. Using eDNA makes it simpler to identify hidden or juvenile species that nearly match other populaces. eDNA presents a helpful non-invasive means in identifying unique and mysterious species for conservation monitoring plans. To know the presence of species in a region, scientists carry out DNA sequencing. eDNA use is still in its early stages. However, with the latest emerging sequencing techniques, like next-generation sequencing, an exceptional bargain of confidence lies in the use of eDNA in conservation monitoring.
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Finding the Obvious and the Elusive
To use eDNA to trace species, experts generate and read the fragments discovered in a specimen. They match the data with certified DNA sequences. For example, scientists collected seawater from places near the Baltic Sea. They identified eDNA from harbor porpoises and long-finned pilot cetaceans. The latter is an invasive species proving that eDNA could discover elusive classes. Sometimes, explorers employ a variant of the procedure known as meta-barcoding. This method assesses DNA from different groups of species. Afterward, it provides a broader understanding of the biodiversity available in a region in the ocean.?
The Search for Aquatic Salamanders
In the latest research, scientists tried to locate the species of Aquatic Salamanders. They also go by the names mud devils or snot otters. These species come under the endangered species list of North America. For tracing the presence of these species, scientists searched 61 sites for eDNA. Out of which, 23 were tested for the eDNA estimation with abundance and biomass correlation. Using eDNA techniques proved to be more successful than using traditional snorkeling practices.
eDNA can be repurposed to fight COVID-19
2020 was the year of the pandemic. Scientists spent the majority of their time cracking down on the cure to COVID 19. Human well-being experts began reprocessing eDNA methods to follow the Covid outbreak. This example explains how research from one area can be used in the study for another area. In the future, scientists believe eDNA will be an indispensable tool for observing human and animal well-being. Coronavirus genomes do not comprise DNA but its relative fragment, RNA. Hence, scientists have begun optimizing eRNA techniques. With eRNA, they fortunately separated and sequenced the coronavirus. Air and water samples were collected for this study. They detected traces of SARS-CoV-2. This prediction is a massive help in detecting future outbreaks and diseases.?
Will eDNA analysis replace traditional sampling and surveying of wildlife?
The method still comes with its limitations. Researchers believe that currently, eDNA analysis will not replace traditional sampling. Both the techniques will go hand-in-hand in discovering invasive and threatened species. Traditional surveys are still vital for observing the change in different populations. Moreover, many researchers enjoy carrying out traditional sampling.?