Environmental DNA Analysis: A New Approach to Monitoring Species Reduction

Abstract

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is defined as genetic material taken from an environmental sample that contains distinguishing characteristics of the original organisms that are or were present in the environmental sample and includes extracellular and intracellular DNA. Its presence and degradation depend on various abiotic conditions, and possible sources of eDNA include all biological materials of organisms. The analysis of eDNA is simple and cheap. It is of great importance for the study of environmental biodiversity because it provides quantitative estimates of the abundance and biomass of individuals and species. Changes in environmental conditions affect eDNA, which is why eDNA analysis is often used in ecology. In addition to climatic changes, there are also seasonal changes in abiotic factors that significantly affect eDNA abundance. In this study, the research methods and application of this genetic material in different research areas are presented.

Keywords

• biodiversity
• biomonitoring
• pcr
• sequencing