Spela Goricki

Spela Goricki

Aug 30, 2018

Group 6 Copy 227
3

eDNA in Subterranean Biology Update

At the 23rd International Conference on Subterranean Biology two years ago I presented the results of a survey that introduced the eDNA method in the subterranean environment. Since then it is possible to detect the presence of the olm Proteus (and the amphipod Stygobromus, thanks to Matt Niemiller & colleagues) in karst groundwater by analyzing samples of water collected on the surface - e.g. at springs or in wells.

Our poster presented at the 24th conference, held last week in Aveiro, Portugal, showed what had been done in continuation of that work, as we started to develop a method to estimate Proteus population sizes from eDNA.

Photo by S. Polak

Thanks to everyone who came by for your interest, comments and suggestions.

Of course, the number of eDNA copies we may find in the water depends not only on the number of individuals that release it and its release rate, but also on the volume of water it is dissolved in, its transport rate along the current, decomposition processes and the associated degradation rate, and the efficiency of all stages of eDNA collection. So now we are hoping to obtain funding to investigate and characterize the Planina Cave and its resident Proteus population in greater detail, as well as to measure the many variables in the eDNA model in a more controlled, experimental setting.

On the other end of the known subterranean eDNA world, Michael Curran of the Bennelongia Environmental Consultants and Nicole White from Curtin University have launched the "impossible" mission to characterize Australian subterranean communities by metabarcoding. Michael told us that their environmental samples are obtained from 20-meter-deep boreholes that are dug in the desert ground while outside air temperature reaches inhuman 50 degrees celsius! Yet they really earned my admiration by succeeding in sequencing eDNA of a few subterranean taxa from the very warm groundwater Nicole gets to analyze and by being the very first to also apply the eDNA method on the much much rarer terrestrial subterranean fauna.

Looking forward to future milestones!


3 comments

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  • MariaLMoore
    MariaLMoore
    Keep up the good work!
    Jun 08, 2019
  • Spela Goricki
    Spela GorickiResearcher
    Hi Markus It was great meeting you too! Thanks for the good wishes. All the best to you, Spela
    Sep 03, 2018
  • Markus Friedrich
    Markus FriedrichBacker
    Hi Spela, It was great to meet you at the conference and learn about your progress. Thanks for the post which nicely captures the stunning eDNA developments in the subterranean field. Best of luck with the Planina Cave project!
    Aug 31, 2018

About This Project

Estimating and monitoring population sizes of rare and endangered cave animals is a daunting task, mainly because it is extremely difficult and dangerous for humans to penetrate their environment and come face to face with them. To circumvent this problem, I will explore the potential of DNA suspended in groundwater to make inferences about population sizes of an aquatic cave species, the olm Proteus, in different cave systems in south-eastern Europe.

Blast off!

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