A pair of new studies that gathered DNA from the air in zoos shows that animals shed a remarkable amount of genetic material.
, found that by simply filtering air around zoos, researchers could recover genetic material from surrounding animals. They didn’t just detect the captive animals, though—the teams captured‚ or eDNA, from chicken and fish fed to those animals, and from wild and domestic creatures living nearby.
The scientists turned to zoos—one in the UK, one in Denmark—because, as Clare puts it, “the zoo is this remarkable collection of non-native species.” This allowed the researchers to prove that they found DNA from the location they were studying. If they were to monitor the air on a farm, for instance, it would be impossible to know if they were detecting DNA from cows nearby, or miles away. “The problem I faced with the cows cannot happen with a tiger,” Clare says.
The teams had lists of zoo animals to compare against, but they were also able to pick up and identify DNA from unexpected sources. Clare’s group found evidence that zookeepers were tracking DNA from one enclosure to another. In the rainforest building, Lynggaard’s crew spotted DNA from the guppies in the ponds. “It’s one thing if you have a rhino that is scratching, or a bird that is flying around,” says Lynggaard. “But the guppies don’t leave the water.
But while eDNA can provide ample clues, it can’t tell a complete story. The genetic material degrades over time, so researchers will need to learn how to figure out when the “footprint” was left. Initial applications of this technique are likely to be most useful in finding either endangered or non-native species.
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