Environmental DNA: an Emerging Sustainable Tool for Ecological Monitoring

Abstract

One can extract DNA from any environmental sample irrespective of the organism i.e., Soil, Water, Air. This DNA is identified as environmental DNA or eDNA. The application of the novel eDNA approaches, particularly NGS techniques, has evolved biodiversity surveys taking into account both the budget and the time. eDNA has revolutionized our thinking about biogeography. Results obtained from eDNA approaches have given some crucial insights into the study of ancient environments that are useful in the sustainable management of contemporary biodiversity in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Advancements in eDNA technologies also enhance the knowledge of molecular ecology and make it possible to answer different ecological questions by using genetic methods.