Assay Development
We develop custom assays to assess the presence of species using eDNA and eRNA following the most stringent quality standards.
Species-specific Assay Development and Validation
Species-specific eDNA/eRNA assays using PCR-based assays are developed following the Environmental DNA Test Validation Guidelines.
Steps undertaken to develop these assays are:
- Define the intended purpose of the assay
- Design and test the assay
- Validate and optimise the assay using reference samples
- Check analytical specificity
- Check analytical sensitivity
- Check repeatability
- Check reproducibility
- Determine thresholds to accept presence
Multi-species (metabarcoding) Assay Development and Validation
Environmental DNA assays using metabarcoding and high-throughput sequencing (HTS) target various taxonomic levels. Given the complexity of metabarcoding assays and their corresponding data analysis requirements, developing metabarcoding assays requires validation of both the assay itself and the analytical pipeline used to curate and analyse the data.
Steps for metabarcoding assay development and validation are:
- Define the intended purpose of the assay (define the targeted taxa and outline reference database)
- Design and test the assay (develop and test the associated bioinformatic pipeline for data analysis)
- Validate and optimise the assay using reference samples 4 Check reproducibility.
Other applications of eDNA
Biodiversity & Conservation
eDNA analysis allows for the rapid assessment of biodiversity in ecosystems from a wide range of sample substrates including water, air, soil, swabs.
Biosecurity
Some of the key applications of eDNA in biosecurity include; early detection of invasive species, surveillance of pathogens, quarantine and border control, biosecurity risk assessments.
EcoDNA acknowledges the Ngunnawal people, traditional custodians of the lands where we are situated. We wish to acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of Canberra and the region. We also acknowledge all other First Nations Peoples on whose lands we gather.
Email: ecoDNA@canberra.edu.au
Address: Building 7, Level D, University of Canberra, Bruce ACT 2617 Australia