A first-of-its kind technology to filter environmental DNA (eDNA) from air samples to monitor terrestrial biodiversity will scale as a commercial service from a collaboration announced Friday, on the heels of an eDNA marine sampling partnership launched earlier in the week.
DNA-based biodiversity monitoring company NatureMetrics announced a partnership with researchers from the Clare Lab and York University to investigate scalability of airborne DNA analysis, the press release noted.
“This project represents an important next step in the evolution of eDNA application for robust biodiversity monitoring. The Clare Lab recently developed an improved sampling device for eDNA capture, demonstrating that eDNA can be filtered directly out of air samples – a tremendous new tool to monitor terrestrial biodiversity,” Elizabeth Clare, project lead and assistant professor at York University, said.
The collaboration received funding via an Alliance Grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Canada’s federal research funding agency, and the Ontario Center for Innovation (OCI), the province’s technology accelerator.
Alliance Grants encourage university researchers to collaborate with partner organisations, which can be from the private, public, or not-for-profit sectors.
Earlier in the week, NatureMetrics launched a partnership with Dartmouth Ocean Technologies, a manufacturer of oceanographic instruments, to scale up eDNA marine sampling using a waterborne drone to track and manage biodiversity across the world’s oceans.
NatureMetrics has a suite of expanding commercial services globally for eDNA monitoring of aquatic systems, soils, marine sediments, and insect traps.
Demand for biodiversity assessment data and the direct impact of companies’ operations on the environment continues to grow as a result of increasing regulation and government pressure to limit global biodiversity loss.
Project developers are turning to eDNA monitoring as a key tool to support the generation of biodiversity credits in the evolving market.
A previous collaboration between NatureMetrics and Clare Lab researchers tested the first application of airborne eDNA for ecological analysis, which detected bats and other animals living in roost habitats in the wild.
The NatureMetrics project team plans to adopt the same prototype and sampling strategy using ground-based monitoring to provide low-cost, detailed biodiversity data for “the whole tree of life in every ecosystem, from arctic waters to tropical rainforests” and expand the technology to air at scale.
Natalia Ivanova, head of Science at NatureMetrics North America, outlined plans for the firm’s nascent technology.
“Up until now, eDNA monitoring has focused on water and soil samples. We are now filling the gap of eDNA collection by air – a new and simple method with vast deployment opportunity.”
“We believe this innovation will be sought after by environmental consulting companies, conservation organisations, and regulators worldwide,” Ivanova added.
The main objective of the study will be to conduct early-stage commercial validation of the prototype under real-world field conditions at an established research site where full assessment of deployment and costs can be achieved, the release stated.
NatureMetrics expects field testing to commence this April, with the full results released in early 2024, and a commercial product available by late 2024.
By Joan Pinto – joan@carbon-pulse.com
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