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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Environmental RNA as a Tool for Marine Community Biodiversity Assessments
ClearUsing eRNA/eDNA metabarcoding to detect community-level impacts of nanoplastic exposure to benthic estuarine ecosystems
Researchers used environmental DNA and RNA metabarcoding to detect community-level impacts of nanoplastic exposure on benthic estuarine organisms in marine sediments. The study suggests that molecular methods offer a powerful approach for assessing how nanoplastic contamination affects the diversity and composition of ecologically important microscopic organisms in marine food webs.
Exploitation of environmental DNA (eDNA) for ecotoxicological research: A critical review on eDNA metabarcoding in assessing marine pollution
This review examines how environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis -- a method that detects organisms through DNA traces left in water -- can be used to monitor the effects of marine pollution, including plastic waste. While eDNA does not detect plastics directly, it reveals how pollution changes the biodiversity of marine communities, serving as an early warning system. The approach could help scientists better track the ecological damage caused by microplastic contamination in oceans.
Environmental DNA in an Ocean of Change: Status, Challenges and Prospects
This review examines the status, challenges, and prospects of environmental DNA (eDNA) research in marine systems, surveying literature on metazoan eDNA studies to assess progress in detecting species distributions, biodiversity, and biomass, and highlighting future opportunities including marine time series, population genetics, natural sampler DNA, and eDNA-based trophic network reconstruction.
Dead or Alive? Challenges in Discriminating Dietary From Host‐Associated Community via RNA and DNA Metabarcoding in a Filter Feeder
Researchers investigated challenges in separating dietary genetic signatures from host-associated microbial and parasitic communities in environmental DNA metabarcoding of filter-feeding organisms such as mussels and sponges. They found that continuous filter feeding causes these organisms to accumulate environmental DNA from ingested taxa, making it difficult to distinguish living endobiotic community members from transient dietary DNA — a problem with broad implications for environmental DNA-based biodiversity monitoring.
Forensics Meets Ecology – Environmental DNA Offers New Capabilities for Marine Ecosystem and Fisheries Research
This review describes how environmental DNA (eDNA) tools are expanding capabilities for marine ecosystem monitoring and fisheries research, enabling non-invasive detection of species presence, biodiversity assessment, and tracking of human impacts across large ocean areas.
A State-of-the-Art Review of Aquatic eDNA Sampling Technologies and Instrumentation: Advancements, Challenges, and Future Prospects
This review surveys the current state of environmental DNA sampling technologies used to monitor aquatic biodiversity, covering methods from simple water filtration to automated in-situ samplers. Researchers found that while eDNA methods offer significant advantages over traditional species surveys, challenges remain in standardizing collection protocols and preventing contamination. The technology has broad implications for monitoring ecosystem health, including tracking how environmental stressors like pollution affect aquatic communities.
The Next Generation Is Here: A Review of Transcriptomic Approaches in Marine Ecology
This review assessed transcriptomic approaches in marine ecology, highlighting how next-generation sequencing technologies are enabling researchers to address ecological questions including organism responses to environmental stressors at the molecular level.
Insights in Pharmaceutical Pollution: The Prospective Role of eDNA Metabarcoding
This review explored how environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding can serve as a prospective tool for monitoring the biological impacts of pharmaceutical pollution on aquatic ecosystems, complementing traditional chemical-based monitoring approaches.
Metabarcoding reveals different zooplankton communities in northern and southern areas of the North Sea
Using DNA-based metabarcoding, this study identified distinct zooplankton communities in northern versus southern areas of the North Sea, demonstrating molecular tools can efficiently capture biodiversity patterns that traditional morphology-based methods miss. Robust zooplankton monitoring is important for tracking marine ecosystem health.
Environmental DNA metabarcoding reveals the effects of seafloor litter and trawling on marine biodiversity
This study used environmental DNA metabarcoding to examine how seafloor litter and bottom trawling affect marine biodiversity in demersal fish communities. Results showed that combining these anthropogenic pressures significantly altered species composition compared to either stressor alone.
Decoding the Baltic Sea's Past and Present: A simple Molecular Index for Ecosystem Assessment
Researchers developed a droplet digital PCR assay applied to ancient DNA from Baltic Sea sediment cores to reconstruct past phytoplankton community dynamics over the past century. By calculating a DNA-based dominance index of the diatom Skeletonema marinoi versus the dinoflagellate Apocalathium malmogiense, they extended monitoring time series beyond direct observation records to assess historical ecosystem status.
Adsorption and Protection of Environmental DNA (eDNA) on Polymer and Silica Surfaces
Environmental DNA (eDNA) was found to adsorb onto and be protected by plastic particles in water, meaning microplastics can preserve genetic material shed by aquatic organisms. This has dual implications: microplastics may interfere with eDNA-based biodiversity monitoring while also potentially serving as DNA carriers in ecosystems.
Utilizing aquatic environmental DNA to address global biodiversity targets
This review explores how environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis from water samples can help monitor aquatic biodiversity and track ecosystem health. While not directly about microplastics, eDNA technology is increasingly being adapted to study how plastic pollution affects aquatic ecosystems and species diversity. Better biodiversity monitoring tools help scientists understand the broader ecological impacts of microplastic contamination on the water systems that support human food and resources.
Application of Environmental DNA in the Air for Monitoring Biodiversity
This review examines the use of airborne environmental DNA as a non-invasive tool for monitoring biodiversity across multiple species groups simultaneously. While focused on biodiversity monitoring methodology, the study contributes to understanding how atmospheric sampling techniques can be used to track biological and environmental changes, including the presence of airborne contaminants.
Harnessing environmental DNA: revolutionizing holistic monitoring of aquatic biodiversity for fishery management under the One Health framework
This review paper examines a new monitoring technique called environmental DNA (eDNA) that can detect fish and other water creatures by testing water samples for genetic material they leave behind. Scientists believe this tool could help better manage fish populations and protect both ocean health and human food security, since healthy fisheries provide food for billions of people worldwide. However, the technology still needs improvements before it can be widely used to make decisions about fishing limits and water safety.
Enhanced eDNA Recovery from Microplastic-Polluted Freshwater Systems Using Surfactant-Assisted Bead-Beating with Enzymatic Digestion
Researchers developed an improved eDNA recovery method combining surfactant-assisted bead-beating with enzymatic digestion to overcome the interference caused by microplastic pollution in freshwater biodiversity monitoring. The approach significantly enhanced eDNA retrieval from contaminated water bodies where conventional methods underperform.
Technological Advancements in Field Investigations of Marine Microorganisms: From Sampling Strategies to Molecular Analyses
This is not a microplastics study; it reviews advances in field sampling and molecular analysis methods for studying marine microorganisms, covering omics technologies and in-situ sampling strategies for understanding ocean biogeochemical processes.
Pollution Biomarkers in the Framework of Marine Biodiversity Conservation: State of Art and Perspectives
This review examines how molecular and cellular biomarkers can be used to detect the effects of chemical pollution, including from microplastics, on marine organisms and biodiversity. The study highlights the importance of integrating biomarker data into environmental monitoring frameworks to better assess pollution impacts on marine ecosystems.
The electronic tree of life (eToL): a net of long probes to characterize the microbiome from RNA-seq data
Researchers developed the electronic Tree of Life (eToL), a tool that uses long RNA probes to identify and characterize the full range of microbes living in a sample from standard RNA-sequencing data. This method broadens the ability to study the microbiome — the community of microorganisms in a given environment — with potential uses in diagnostics and environmental monitoring.
Current Status of Omics in Biological Quality Elements for Freshwater Biomonitoring
This review examines how advanced molecular techniques like DNA barcoding, environmental DNA analysis, and metagenomics are being applied to freshwater biomonitoring alongside traditional biological assessment methods. Researchers found that these omics-based approaches can provide faster, more comprehensive biodiversity assessments than conventional methods, but significant challenges remain in standardizing protocols and interpreting results. The study highlights how these tools could improve the detection of ecosystem impacts from emerging threats including microplastic pollution.
Environmental DNA: The First Snapshot of the Vertebrate Biodiversity in Three Sicilian Lakes
Researchers applied environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding to characterise vertebrate biodiversity in three Sicilian freshwater lakes, providing the first systematic snapshot of fish and other vertebrate communities in these understudied ecosystems. The study demonstrated that eDNA surveys can detect species assemblages efficiently and non-invasively in lakes subject to anthropogenic pressures.
Evaluating bioinformatics pipelines for population‐level inference using environmental DNA
Researchers evaluated twelve bioinformatics pipelines for their ability to reliably infer intraspecific genetic variability from environmental DNA samples, finding that amplification and sequencing errors can substantially inflate estimates of genetic diversity. The study provides guidance on pipeline selection for population-level eDNA analysis.
Extracting DNA from ocean microplastics: a method comparison study
Researchers compared multiple methods for extracting DNA from microplastics collected in the ocean, providing detailed protocols for studying the microbial communities that colonize plastic debris. Understanding what microorganisms colonize marine plastics is important because these surfaces can transport bacteria — including potentially harmful species — across long ocean distances.
Population genetic assessment of marine megafauna using seawater environmental DNA: a case study of whale sharks from the Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area.
Researchers developed a population genetics method using seawater environmental DNA to genetically assess whale sharks at the Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area, demonstrating a scalable and non-invasive alternative to tissue biopsy for monitoring endangered and elusive marine megafauna.