DNA Method Tracks Fish, Whales With Half-Liter Seawater Samples

摘要

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have developed a" method to account for marine fish biodiversity that uses metabarcoding of environmental DNA obtained directly from seawater samples. This approach, which can detect species based on water samples of a half liter, has been used in freshwater environments but not marine settings. Today, marine fish are often surveyed using selective and invasive methods mostly limited to commercial species and restricted to areas with favorable conditions. The method presented in the scientists' two studies, which were published in PLoS One, could be used for estimating fish stocks.