基因组学技术在生物多样性保护研究中的应用

在分子生物学、细胞生物学、微生物学、遗传学等学科的推动下, 生物多样性研究从仅关注宏观表型的博物学, 迅速演化为涵盖生态系统、物种和遗传多样性等多个维度的综合性生命科学。组学技术, 尤其是DNA测序技术的更新和发展, 使获取DNA序列所需的成本大幅下降, 促进了近年来其在生物多样性研究中取得的一系列令人瞩目成就。本文将从物种水平的遗传多样性和群落水平的物种多样性两个层面总结和介绍与DNA相关的组学技术在生物多样性研究中的一些创新和应用。其中, 物种水平主要是总结单一个体的基因组和单物种多个体在时空多个维度上的群体遗传研究; 而群落水平的物种多样性层面主要总结现有的分子鉴定技术(metabarcoding, eDNA, iDNA等), 以及上述新技术在群落多样性评估、旗舰保护物种监测以及物种间相互作用关系等研究中的应用。     

从物种识别到生物多样性评估——DNA条形码与DNA metabarcoding技术

在生命科学研究中,物种识别和生物多样性评估是重要的基础环节。从基于形态学特征分类的经典分类学,到近来被分子分类学家广泛接受的DNA条形码,以及在高通量测序技术基础上衍生出的DNA metabarcoding研究方法,人类正以前所未有的速度与深度重新认识生命世界。DNA metabarcoding可快速、简便、有效地从多物种混合DNA样本中还原其中的生物类群及其居群结构,实现从物种的有效识别到生物多样性的评估。概述了DNA条形码与DNA metabarcoding的概念、技术方法、应用及最新进展。     

DNA条形码在生态学研究中的应用与展望

DNA条形码是利用标准的DNA片段对物种进行快速鉴定的技术,已在生物学各相关领域得到广泛应用。随着DNA条形码技术的不断发展和完善,已成功应用于生态学领域的相关研究中。本文综述了DNA条形码在物种快速鉴定和隐存种发现、群落系统发育重建和生态取证、群落内物种间相互关系研究等方面的应用,并介绍了DNAmetabarcoding技术和环境DNA条形码在生物多样性和生态学研究领域中的应用。最后,结合新的测序技术和未来大科学装置的发展,在相关数据库逐渐完善,新分析方法和计算模型不断开发使用的情景下,对DNA条形码在生态学相关领域的应用前景进行了展望。     

植物DNA条形码研究展望

<正>物种的鉴定是生物多样性研究的基石之一。在DNA双螺旋结构发现50年之际,加拿大学者提出了通过DNA条形码,即标准化的、较短的DNA序列对物种进行快速、准确鉴定的动议(Hebert et al.,2003)。经过12年的发展,DNA条形码已成为生物多样性研究领域发展最迅速的方向之一。一方面,DNA条形码和分子系统发育的研究使分类学、生态学、进化生物学等传统领域焕发出新的活力,极大     

环境DNA宏条形码在生物多样性研究与监测中的应用

环境DNA宏条形码(eDNA metabarcoding)技术通过提取水体、土壤、空气中的环境DNA,使用引物PCR扩增与高通量测序,进行物种鉴定与生物多样性评估.作为一种新的监测技术,相比于传统监测技术更加快捷、准确以及对自然环境的破坏小,因此在一定程度上改变了我们调查地球生物多样性的方式.本文综述了环境DNA宏条形...     

基于环境DNA宏条形码的洱海鱼类多样性研究

研究使用环境DNA宏条形码(eDNA metabarcoding)检测洱海鱼类多样性, 探索适用于洱海鱼类多样性监测和保护的新方法。通过水样采集、过滤、eDNA提取、遗传标记扩增、测序与生物信息分析的环境DNA宏条形码标准化分析流程, 从洱海16个采样点中获得可检测的9个采样点数据, 共检测出17种鱼类, 其中土著种5种、外来种12种; 鲫(Carassius auratus)、鳙(Hypophthalmichthys nobilis)、麦穗鱼(Pseudorasbora parva)、泥鳅(Misgurnus anguillicaudatus)和食蚊鱼(Gambusia affinis)为优势种。研究结果表明虽然环境DNA宏条形码无法完全替代传统的鱼类监测方法, 但作为一种新兴的生物多样性监测手段, 其可用于快速检测洱海鱼类多样性及其空间分布。     

基于环境DNA宏条形码技术的辽东湾典型围海养殖池塘内水母多样性研究

研究使用环境DNA宏条形码技术(eDNA metabarcoding)检测辽东湾东北部河口区围海养殖池塘水母种类多样性,探索适用于水母种类物种鉴定和监测的新方法。利用环境DNA宏条形码技术,分别基于18S rDNA和COI宏条形码检测了辽东湾东北部河口区围海养殖池塘水母种类多样性,通过水样采集、过滤、eDNA提取、遗传标记扩增、测序与生物信息分析的环境DNA宏条形码标准化分析流程,从围海养殖池塘7个采样点中获得可检测的采样点数据。结果显示,基于18S rDNA宏条形码检测出8种水母种类,其中钵水母纲大型水母2种、水螅水母总纲小型水母6种;基于COI宏条形码技术共检测出19种水母种类,其中钵水母纲大型水母5种、水螅水母总纲小型水母14种;两种DNA条形码标记都显示养殖种类海蜇(Rhopilema esculentum)为优势种。研究结果表明,环境DNA宏条形码技术作为一种新兴的生物多样性监测手段可用于快速检测水母种类多样性,在水母类物种鉴定、监测及早期预警中有较大的应用潜能。     

环境DNA技术在淡水底栖大型无脊椎动物多样性监测中的应用

环境DNA (eDNA)是指生物有机体在环境中(例如土壤、沉积物或水体)遗留下的DNA片段。eDNA技术是指从环境中提取DNA片段进行测序以及数据分析来反映环境中的物种或群落信息。与传统方法相比, eDNA技术具有高灵敏度、省时省力、无损伤等优点。目前, eDNA技术已成为一种新的水生生物监测方法, 主要应用于水生生物的多样性研究、濒危和稀有动物的物种状态及外来入侵动物扩散动态的监测等。本文从eDNA技术在水生生物多样性监测应用领域的发展历程、eDNA技术的操作流程以及其在监测淡水底栖大型无脊椎动物方面的应用进展、技术优势和局限性五个方面进行了综述。最后, 本文对eDNA技术在淡水底栖大型无脊椎动物多样性监测应用的发展趋势和前景作出展望。     

基于eDNA技术的长江上游珍稀特有鱼类国家级自然保护区重庆段鱼类多样性研究

利用环境DNA宏条形码(environmental DNA metabarcoding;eDNA metabarcoding)检测长江上游珍稀特有鱼类国家级自然保护区重庆段鱼类多样性,探索适用于长江鱼类多样性监测和保护的新方法,为后期长江"十年禁渔"效果评估提供一定的基础资料.研究于2021年3月在保护区重庆段共设置6...     

Metabarcoding技术在真菌多样性研究中的应用

由于受到气候变化、土地利用变化及环境污染等诸多因素的干扰, 真菌多样性受到不容忽视的威胁, 亟需得到保护。构建物种数据库是实现真菌多样性研究和保护的重要前提。近年来兴起的DNA条形码及metabarcoding技术能够在很大程度上弥补传统鉴定方法的缺陷, 可对真菌物种进行大规模、准确、快速、高效地鉴定。本文梳理了metabarcoding技术在真菌物种多样性评估、真菌多样性影响机制和真菌古生态重建等研究中的应用, 同时强调了metabarcoding技术用于真菌多样性研究尚处于初期阶段, 在构建有效参照数据库、优化实验流程以及升级生物信息学工具等方面仍需要进一步的完善。建议加强真菌分类学家、生态学家以及计算机工具研发工程师之间的合作, 共同解决metabarcoding技术在真菌多样性研究及应用中面临的问题, 为宏观尺度上真菌多样性保护提供更加科学的依据。     

动物食性分析在生态学中的应用研究进展——基于DNA宏条形码技术

动物食性分析是动物营养生态学的重要研究手段,可用于解析动物与环境因素的关联性、捕食者与猎物之间的关系,以及动物物种多样性等科学问题。近年来,基于新一代测序技术的DNA宏条形码技术被广泛应用到生态学多个研究领域,极大地促进了生命科学交叉学科的发展。其中,DNA宏条形码技术在动物食性分析中具有高分辨、高效率、低样本量等优势,具有重要的应用前景。综述了基于DNA宏条形码技术的动物食性分析在生态学中的应用研究进展,并进一步总结了DNA宏条形码技术原理和食性分析方法,着重探讨了基于DNA宏条形码技术的动物食性分析在珍稀濒危动物保护、生物多样性监测、农业害虫防治等生态学研究领域中的应用,并对DNA宏条形码技术在动物食性分析中存在的问题及应用前景进行小结与展望。     

DNA宏条形码技术在海洋浮游动物多样性和生态学研究中的应用

浮游动物是海洋生态系统的关键类群,其覆盖门类广泛,多样性高。传统形态鉴定技术需要检测人员具备专业的形态鉴定知识,且费时费力。宏条形码技术无需分离生物个体,而是提取拖网采集到的浮游动物混合样本的总DNA,或者水体中的环境DNA （eDNA）,依托高通量测序平台测序,能够实现对大规模样本快速、准确、经济的分析,在海洋浮游动物生态学研究中得到越来越广泛的应用。分析了DNA宏条形码技术常用的核糖体和线粒体分子标记,在浮游动物多样性和数量研究中的可靠性和不足,并给出在海洋浮游动物群落监测,食物关系分析及生物入侵早期预警等研究中的应用。未来,开发多基因片段组合条形码,发展完备的参考数据库及实现准确的量化研究是DNA宏条形码技术发展的重要方向。     

Needle in a haystack? A comparison of eDNA metabarcoding and targeted qPCR for detection of the great crested newt (Triturus cristatus)

Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis is a rapid, cost‐effective, non‐invasive biodiversity monitoring tool which utilises DNA left behind in the environment by organisms for species detection. The method is used as a species‐specific survey tool for rare or invasive species across a broad range of ecosystems. Recently, eDNA and “metabarcoding” have been combined to describe whole communities rather than focusing on single target species. However, whether metabarcoding is as sensitive as targeted approaches for rare species detection remains to be evaluated. The great crested newt Triturus cristatus is a flagship pond species of international conservation concern and the first UK species to be routinely monitored using eDNA. We evaluate whether eDNA metabarcoding has comparable sensitivity to targeted real‐time quantitative PCR (qPCR) for T. cristatus detection. Extracted eDNA samples (N = 532) were screened for T. cristatus by qPCR and analysed for all vertebrate species using high‐throughput sequencing technology. With qPCR and a detection threshold of 1 of 12 positive qPCR replicates, newts were detected in 50% of ponds. Detection decreased to 32% when the threshold was increased to 4 of 12 positive qPCR replicates. With metabarcoding, newts were detected in 34% of ponds without a detection threshold, and in 28% of ponds when a threshold (0.028%) was applied. Therefore, qPCR provided greater detection than metabarcoding but metabarcoding detection with no threshold was equivalent to qPCR with a stringent detection threshold. The proportion of T. cristatus sequences in each sample was positively associated with the number of positive qPCR replicates (qPCR score) suggesting eDNA metabarcoding may be indicative of eDNA concentration. eDNA metabarcoding holds enormous potential for holistic biodiversity assessment and routine freshwater monitoring. We advocate this community approach to freshwater monitoring to guide management and conservation, whereby entire communities can be initially surveyed to best inform use of funding and time for species‐specific surveys.     

Next‐generation monitoring of aquatic biodiversity using environmental DNA metabarcoding

Global biodiversity in freshwater and the oceans is declining at high rates. Reliable tools for assessing and monitoring aquatic biodiversity, especially for rare and secretive species, are important for efficient and timely management. Recent advances in DNA sequencing have provided a new tool for species detection from DNA present in the environment. In this study, we tested whether an environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding approach, using water samples, can be used for addressing significant questions in ecology and conservation. Two key aquatic vertebrate groups were targeted: amphibians and bony fish. The reliability of this method was cautiously validated in silico, in vitro and in situ. When compared with traditional surveys or historical data, eDNA metabarcoding showed a much better detection probability overall. For amphibians, the detection probability with eDNA metabarcoding was 0.97 (CI = 0.90–0.99) vs. 0.58 (CI = 0.50–0.63) for traditional surveys. For fish, in 89% of the studied sites, the number of taxa detected using the eDNA metabarcoding approach was higher or identical to the number detected using traditional methods. We argue that the proposed DNA‐based approach has the potential to become the next‐generation tool for ecological studies and standardized biodiversity monitoring in a wide range of aquatic ecosystems.     

Metabarcoding of shrimp stomach content: Harnessing a natural sampler for fish biodiversity monitoring

Given their positioning and biological productivity, estuaries have long represented key providers of ecosystem services and consequently remain under remarkable pressure from numerous forms of anthropogenic impact. The monitoring of fish communities in space and time is one of the most widespread and established approaches to assess the ecological status of estuaries and other coastal habitats, but traditional fish surveys are invasive, costly, labour intensive and highly selective. Recently, the application of metabarcoding techniques, on either sediment or aqueous environmental DNA, has rapidly gained popularity. Here, we evaluate the application of a novel, high‐throughput DNA‐based monitoring tool to assess fish diversity, based on the analysis of the gut contents of a generalist predator/scavenger, the European brown shrimp, Crangon crangon. Sediment and shrimp samples were collected from eight European estuaries, and DNA metabarcoding (using both 12S and COI markers) was carried out to infer fish assemblage composition. We detected 32 teleost species (16 and 20, for 12S and COI, respectively). Twice as many species were recovered using metabarcoding than by traditional net surveys. By comparing and interweaving trophic, environmental DNA and traditional survey‐based techniques, we show that the DNA‐assisted gut content analysis of a ubiquitous, easily accessible, generalist species may serve as a powerful, rapid and cost‐effective tool for large‐scale, routine estuarine biodiversity monitoring.     

Species‐level biodiversity assessment using marine environmental DNA metabarcoding requires protocol optimization and standardization

DNA extraction from environmental samples (environmental DNA; eDNA) for metabarcoding‐based biodiversity studies is gaining popularity as a noninvasive, time‐efficient, and cost‐effective monitoring tool. The potential benefits are promising for marine conservation, as the marine biome is frequently under‐surveyed due to its inaccessibility and the consequent high costs involved. With increasing numbers of eDNA‐related publications have come a wide array of capture and extraction methods. Without visual species confirmation, inconsistent use of laboratory protocols hinders comparability between studies because the efficiency of target DNA isolation may vary. We determined an optimal protocol (capture and extraction) for marine eDNA research based on total DNA yield measurements by comparing commonly employed methods of seawater filtering and DNA isolation. We compared metabarcoding results of both targeted (small taxonomic group with species‐level assignment) and universal (broad taxonomic group with genus/family‐level assignment) approaches obtained from replicates treated with the optimal and a low‐performance capture and extraction protocol to determine the impact of protocol choice and DNA yield on biodiversity detection. Filtration through cellulose‐nitrate membranes and extraction with Qiagen's DNeasy Blood & Tissue Kit outperformed other combinations of capture and extraction methods, showing a ninefold improvement in DNA yield over the poorest performing methods. Use of optimized protocols resulted in a significant increase in OTU and species richness for targeted metabarcoding assays. However, changing protocols made little difference to the OTU and taxon richness obtained using universal metabarcoding assays. Our results demonstrate an increased risk of false‐negative species detection for targeted eDNA approaches when protocols with poor DNA isolation efficacy are employed. Appropriate optimization is therefore essential for eDNA monitoring to remain a powerful, efficient, and relatively cheap method for biodiversity assessments. For seawater, we advocate filtration through cellulose‐nitrate membranes and extraction with Qiagen's DNeasy Blood & Tissue Kit or phenol‐chloroform‐isoamyl for successful implementation of eDNA multi‐marker metabarcoding surveys.     

Toward an ecoregion scale evaluation of eDNA metabarcoding primers: A case study for the freshwater fish biodiversity of the Murray–Darling Basin (Australia)

High‐throughput sequencing of environmental DNA (i.e., eDNA metabarcoding) has become an increasingly popular method for monitoring aquatic biodiversity. At present, such analyses require target‐specific primers to amplify DNA barcodes from co‐occurring species, and this initial amplification can introduce biases. Understanding the performance of different primers is thus recommended prior to undertaking any metabarcoding initiative. While multiple software programs are available to evaluate metabarcoding primers, all programs have their own strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, a robust in silico workflow for the evaluation of metabarcoding primers will benefit from the use of multiple programs. Furthermore, geographic differences in species biodiversity are likely to influence the performance of metabarcoding primers and further complicate the evaluation process. Here, an in silico workflow is presented that can be used to evaluate the performance of metabarcoding primers on an ecoregion scale. This workflow was used to evaluate the performance of published and newly developed eDNA metabarcoding primers for the freshwater fish biodiversity of the Murray–Darling Basin (Australia). To validate the in silico workflow, a subset of the primers, including one newly designed primer pair, were used in metabarcoding analyses of an artificial DNA community and eDNA samples. The results show that the in silico workflow allows for a robust evaluation of metabarcoding primers and can reveal important trade‐offs that need to be considered when selecting the most suitable primer. Additionally, a new primer pair was described and validated that allows for more robust taxonomic assignments and is less influenced by primer biases compared to commonly used fish metabarcoding primers.     

Detection of rare and invasive freshwater fish species using eDNA pyrosequencing: Lake Iznik ichthyofauna revised

Assessment of fish biodiversity in freshwater environments is challenging, especially when rare species or species with low population densities exist. Environmental DNA is becoming a common tool in molecular ecology to detect target species found in the environment. Moreover, eDNA metabarcoding is now used to determine a complete list of target organisms without any prior knowledge on the species inhabiting the environment. This study is the first environmental DNA study designed to assess complete ichthyofauna of the largest lake in Marmara Region of Turkey. For this purpose, an eDNA metabarcoding approach enhanced with tagged primers according to sampling stations for a station specific species listing was used to revise the ichthyofauna of Lake Iznik. Results of pyrosequencing data indicate the presence of 23 species in the lake, five of which are reported for the first time. Short fragment of cytochrome b gene sequences amplified in this study were able to make identifications at species level and the eDNA metabarcoding approach was more cost effective and precise compared to conventional surveys. More molecular data from further studies will enhance the reference databases and eDNA metabarcoding could be used more efficiently as an important molecular tool in biodiversity assessment studies.