Environmental DNA analysis as an emerging non-destructive method for plant biodiversity monitoring: a review

Pritam Banerjee, Kathryn A Stewart, Gobinda Dey, Caterina M Antognazza, Raju Kumar Sharma, Jyoti Prakash Maity, Santanu Saha, Hideyuki Doi, Natasha de Vere, Michael W Y Chan, Pin-Yun Lin, Hung-Chun Chao, Chien-Yen Chen

Research output: Contribution to journalReview Articlepeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis has recently transformed and modernized biodiversity monitoring. The accurate detection, and to some extent quantification, of organisms (individuals/populations/communities) in environmental samples is galvanizing eDNA as a successful cost and time-efficient biomonitoring technique. Currently, eDNA's application to plants remains more limited in implementation and scope compared to animals and microorganisms. This review evaluates the development of eDNA-based methods for (vascular) plants, comparing its performance and power of detection with that of traditional methods, to critically evaluate and advise best-practices needed to innovate plant biomonitoring. Recent advancements, standardization and field applications of eDNA-based methods have provided enough scope to utilize it in conservation biology for numerous organisms. Despite our review demonstrating only 13% of all eDNA studies focus on plant taxa to date, eDNA has considerable environmental DNA has considerable potential for plants, where successful detection of invasive, endangered and rare species, and community-level interpretations have provided proof-of-concept. Monitoring methods using eDNA were found to be equal or more effective than traditional methods; however, species detection increased when both methods were coupled. Additionally, eDNA methods were found to be effective in studying species interactions, community dynamics and even effects of anthropogenic pressure. Currently, elimination of potential obstacles (e.g. lack of relevant DNA reference libraries for plants) and the development of user-friendly protocols would greatly contribute to comprehensive eDNA-based plant monitoring programs. This is particularly needed in the data-depauperate tropics and for some plant groups (e.g., Bryophytes and Pteridophytes). We further advocate to coupling traditional methods with eDNA approaches, as the former is often cheaper and methodologically more straightforward, while the latter offers non-destructive approaches with increased discrimination ability. Furthermore, to make a global platform for eDNA, governmental and academic-industrial collaborations are essential to make eDNA surveys a broadly adopted and implemented, rapid, cost-effective and non-invasive plant monitoring approach.

Original languageEnglish
Article numberplac031
Pages (from-to)plac031
JournalAoB PLANTS
Volume14
Issue number4
Early online date02 Jul 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 31 Aug 2022

Keywords

  • DNA barcoding
  • DNA metabarcoding
  • environmental DNA (eDNA)
  • molecular ecology
  • non-destructive biodiversity monitoring
  • plant conservation
  • population management

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