Rockefeller University

Program for the Human Environment

Area of Research: Aquatic environmental DNA (eDNA)

Airborne DNA

PHE’s marine eDNA expert Mark Stoeckle comments on new papers on airborne eDNA in the video Scientists ID Dozens of Plants, Animals from Free-Floating DNA. In a trio of studies, researchers report capturing and analyzing airborne prepared for the magazine and website The Scientist.  The report is spurred by widely reported terrific new papers measuring airborne DNA around zoos.

While presented as a first, this study of airborne DNA began in 2005 under the auspices of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Paula Olsiewski and Jesse Ausubel recruited and managed a series of grants to explore the potential for airborne DNA studies. The largest grant went to the Venter Institute, which pioneered the techniques:

After Mapping the Human Genome, Analyzing the City’s Air Mar 7, 2005 — Dr J Craig Venter will study New York City’s air by installing filter system atop one of Midtown-Manhattan’s skyscrapers and studying its …  

  Among resulting publications: A metagenomic framework for the study of airborne microbial communities  …, J Glass, MD Adams, R Friedman, JC Venter – PloS one, 2013 – journals.plos.org  Understanding the microbial content of the air has important scientific, health, and economic  implications. While studies have primarily characterized the taxonomic content of air samples by sequencing the 16S or 18S ribosomal RNA gene, direct analysis of the genomic …

Among other findings, while focusing on microbial aspects, the Venter team found more rat DNA circulating in the air of NY than human DNA.

Journal of Marine Science publishes our latest on eDNA protocols

Current laboratory protocols for detecting fish species with environmental DNA optimize sensitivity and reproducibility, especially for more abundant populations by Mark Y Stoeckle, Jason Adolf, Jesse H Ausubel, Zach Charlop-Powers, Keith J Dunton, Greg Hinks appears in ICES Journal of Marine Science, fsab273, 11 January 2022.

We test modifications to lab components of an eDNA metabarcoding protocol for marine finfish. Higher-read (more abundant) species were amplified more reproducibly and with less variation in read number than were lower-read (less abundant) species. Our results support the unofficial standard collection volume of one liter for eDNA assessment of commonly encountered marine fish species. We conclude that eDNA rarity poses the main challenge to current methods.

The paper is a sequel to our December 2020 entry: Fish abundance survey by eDNA published

Thanks to our partners at Monmouth University, the New Jersey Bureau of Marine Fisheries, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Video of Wrap-up of Clean Ocean webinar

For a global overview of marine pollution in 90 minutes, watch the lively Wrap-up session of the 17-19 November UN Ocean Decade “Clean Ocean” webinar Jesse co-moderated.  Co-moderator begins the program and Jesse joins after about 4 minutes 30 seconds.

The Clean Ocean Manifesto and Press Release are here.  The “Clean Ocean” initiative is one of the 7 components of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

Photos below show the Berlin production studio for the webinar.

Manifesto for Clean Ocean

Jesse Ausubel served as lead author for the Manifesto of the Clean Ocean International Expert Group of the UN Decade for Ocean Science for Sustainable Development which presents its short list of activities and goals, and a strategy to reach them, at the three-day online conference on achieving a clean ocean 17-19 November. A Press Release is here.

Coverage highlights:

Agencia EFE, via Infobae, Argentina  Expertos piden reducir hasta un 90 % los desechos marinos antes de 2030 https://www.infobae.com/america/agencias/2021/11/17/expertos-piden-reducir-hasta-un-90-los-desechos-marinos-antes-de-2030/

Newsbreak, United States A Clean Ocean by 2030: UN Experts’ “Clean Ocean Manifesto” https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2436864685283/a-clean-ocean-by-2030-un-experts-clean-ocean-manifesto

SciTech Daily A Clean Ocean by 2030: UN Experts’ “Clean Ocean Manifesto” https://scitechdaily.com/a-clean-ocean-by-2030-un-experts-clean-ocean-manifesto/

Podcast, Germany #4: Die Zukunft der Meere – mit Angelika Brandt https://www.podcast.de/episode/587607889/4-die-zukunft-der-meere-mit-angelika-brandt

Earth.com, United States Steps needed to achieve a clean ocean by 2030 https://www.earth.com/news/steps-needed-to-achieve-a-clean-ocean-by-2030/

Envirotec A clean ocean by 2030: UN panel charts “the most direct course”

Reducing marine debris by 2030: UN panel  Indo Asian News Service, India (via ProKerala.com, potential reach 11,332,681, and 22 other news sites)

Achieving Clean Oceans by 2030: The “Clean Ocean Declaration” of UN Experts
(CN Beta), Mainland China (2,587,026) 

Mark and Jesse give NOAA ‘Omics seminar on “Fishing for DNA”

Thanks to Tracy Gill and Katharine Egan, Mark Stoeckle and Jesse Ausubel gave a NOAA-wide “Omics” seminar. 29 October 2021. Title and abstract are below.  View the recording of the webinar via Adobe Connect, here: https://noaabroadcast.adobeconnect.com/pnnos0mcsh3z/ Thanks to the attendees for lotss of great questions and the lively to-and-fro in the Chat Box.

Title: Fishing for DNA: how much water to catch and other questions

Abstract: Measuring quantities of eDNA is fast becoming a preferred method of learning the presence and abundance of fish and other aquatic species. But how much water need one filter and how much DNA need one process to obtain a reasonably complete and reproducible answer? Tests of an eDNA metabarcoding protocol for marine bony fish show more water, more species of fish up to levels tested. Amplifying decreasing amounts of extracted DNA yields progressively fewer species. Species represented by more copies (reads) of their DNA are detected more reproducibly and with less variation than lower-read species. Findings are consistent with Poisson distribution of rarer eDNA. We also vary PCR cycles, sequencing depth, primer concentrations, and primers. Our findings have multiple practical implications, including for survey strategies for both common and rare species, and identify some limits of knowledge and research directions for aquatic eDNA science.

NOAA Science Seminar page

NOAA ‘Omics Website

Mark Stoeckle looks at a glass of water

PHE’s Mark Stoeckle shared our work on marine eDNA at Parsons School of Design, New School University on October 22, 2021. The online series invites artists and scientists to share perspectives on what they see when they look at a glass of water. 

LOOKING AT WATER: Conversations with artists and scientists
Observational Practices Lab @ Parsons
The New School University, New York City

Podcast with Jesse Ausubel

Jesse reflects on decarbonization, dematerialization, land-sparing, industrial ecology, industrialization of the oceans, biological traces of fishes and of Leonardo Da Vinci, and the Seven Deadly Sins in an 83″ podcast with Robert Bryce, author of Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper: and A Question of Power: Electricity and the Wealth of Nations.

The Podcast is also on YouTube where you get to see who sings Take Me Out to the Ballgame.

eDNA book chapter by Alan Curry and Jesse Ausubel

We post the book chapter by Alan Curry and Jesse H. Ausubel, Biological information for the new blue economy and the emerging role of eDNA, in the comprehensive new book by Liesl Hotaling and Richard W. Spinrad (eds), Preparing a Workforce for the New Blue Economy: People, Products, and Policies Elsevier, 2021.  Rick is now the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

A short version of the chapter appeared on 1 March in the magazine Maritime Executive as Biological information for the new blue economy and the emerging role of eDNA.