Published In

Environmental Science and Technology

Document Type

Post-Print

Publication Date

7-2018

Subjects

Environmental monitoring, Microbial ecology, Environmental DNA -- Effect of biofilms on

Abstract

The increasing use of environmental DNA (eDNA) for determination of species presence in aquatic ecosystems is an invaluable technique for both ecology as a field and for the management of aquatic ecosystems. We examined the degradation dynamics of fish eDNA using an experimental array of recirculating streams, also using a “nested” primer assay to estimate degradation among eDNA fragment sizes. We introduced eDNA into streams with a range of water velocities (0.1–0.8 m s–1) and substrate biofilm coverage (0–100%) and monitored eDNA concentrations over time (∼10 d) to assess how biophysical conditions influence eDNA persistence. We found that the presence of biofilm significantly increased initial decay rates relative to previous studies conducted in nonflowing microcosms, suggesting important differences in detection and persistence in lentic vs lotic systems. Lastly, by using a nested primer assay that targeted different size eDNA fragments, we found that fragment size altered both the estimated rate constant coefficients, as well as eDNA detectability over time. Larger fragments (>600 bp) were quickly degraded, while shorter fragments (<100 >bp) remained detectable for the entirety of the experiment. When using eDNA as a stream monitoring tool, understanding environmental factors controlling eDNA degradation will be critical for optimizing eDNA sampling strategies.

Description

This is the author's version of an article that subsequently appeared in Environmental Science and Technology, volume 52, issue 15. Published by the American Chemical Society.

The version of record may b e found at https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b01822.

DOI

10.1021/acs.est.8b01822

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/26685

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