![]() Unlike blood or skin sampling, collecting eDNA causes no stress to the animal. ![]() Scooping a liter of water from the tank of a recovering sea turtle under veterinary care equally provides a wealth of genetic information for research. Sand scooped from their tracks contains enough DNA to provide valuable insights into the turtles and the chelonid herpesviruses and fibropapillomatosis tumors that afflict them. Tiny hatchling sea turtles shed DNA as they crawl along the beach on their way to the ocean shortly after they are born. Our team uses environmental DNA to study endangered sea turtles and the viral tumors to which they are susceptible. Tracking rare or elusive endangered species through their eDNA has been a boon to researchers, since traditional monitoring methods such as observation or trapping can be difficult, often unsuccessful and intrusive to the species of interest. For the last couple of decades, scientists have been able to collect and sequence eDNA from soil or water samples to monitor biodiversity, wildlife populations and disease-causing pathogens. The water, soil and even the air contain microscopic particles of biological material from living organisms.ĭNA that an organism has shed into the environment is known as environmental DNA, or eDNA. ![]() However, all living things, including animals, plants and microbes, constantly shed DNA. Typically, medical practitioners and researchers obtain human DNA through direct sampling, such as blood tests, swabs or biopsies. Because each person has a unique genetic code, DNA can be used to identify individual people. Human DNA can be sequenced from small amounts of water, sand and air in the environment to potentially extract identifiable information like genetic lineage, gender, and health risks, according to our new research.Įvery cell of the body contains DNA.
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