Environmental DNA (AKA eDNA) is originated from cells released from organisms into the water, air or sediments. This genetic material may then be sampled using appropriate methods that allow the biodiversity monitoring. Although this approach usage by environmental agencies (for example: US Department of the Interior, UK Environmental Agency), mainly in industrialized countries.
To learn about this technique (field, wet lab and dry lab methods) and gain insights about how it may be used, I attended the '4th International Workshop for Mangrove Biodiversity Studies by eDNA Metabarcoding' held in Malaysia. Also, by attending the 'International Symposium on Environmental DNA for Conservation and Biomonitoring in Southeast Asia 2023 (ISEDCAB, 2023)', I could share some recent findings on Brazilian mangrove molecular ecology and how eDNA could be added to our molecular toolkit.
Photos by Mr Khrisyhniven Ganakumaran - @_thelightbulb
I thank the organizing committee and wonderful staff for such a great workshop/symposium. Also, I do appreciate Dr. Tadashi Kajita for the invitation to join the event under JSPS Core2Core project "Global analyses of mangrove ecosystem by eDNA metabarcoding". It was a blast!