The National Research Institute has developed a deep-sea high-flow eDNA sampling module that can automatically collect DNA from deep-sea organisms.

Through the module, species such as Aka coral can be detected in the southwest waters of Taiwan. (Provided by National Research Institute)

The Marine Science and Technology Research Center of the National Institute of Experimental Research has invested three years and successfully developed the "Deep Sea High Flow eDNA Sampling Module", which can automatically collect DNA fragments left in the sea from deep-sea organisms in the deep sea, and identify the biological groups that inhabit or move in the sea through gene sequencing analysis. It will be applied to deep-sea ecological surveys and long-term ecological monitoring in the waters around Taiwan.

Deep-sea ecological surveys are not easy. The "Deep-sea High-flow eDNA Sampling Module" developed by the National Academia Sinica Marine Center collects trace amounts of cells, tissues or excreta left by organisms in the environment, and then uses molecular biology techniques to analyze the genetic material in them, thereby inferring the organisms that may exist or move in the environment. It is a non-invasive ecological monitoring method.

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The Ocean Center further explained that this module integrates a deep-sea motor that can withstand the high-pressure environment of the deep sea, a peristaltic pump that can accurately quantify and have low risk of sample contamination, and a filter module that can change the pore size according to research needs. It can filter more than 100 liters of deep-sea water per hour, greatly improving the efficiency of deep-sea eDNA collection and obtaining sufficient eDNA for subsequent analysis. After the equipment is deployed at a fixed point in the deep sea, it can automatically sample according to a preset time and retrieve it the next day, with almost "zero interference" to the benthic ecology.

The team also conducted field tests in Taiwan's southwest waters and successfully deployed the sampling module to the deep seabed. The equipment automatically filtered on the seafloor for one hour and was successfully recovered the next day. After subsequent gene sequencing analysis, a total of more than 22 million environmental DNA sequences were obtained. After database comparison, 365 species of deep-sea biological DNA were identified, including fish, soft It can detect a variety of biological groups such as cephalopods (such as cephalopods and shellfish), crustaceans (shrimps and crabs), deep-sea corals, and echinoderms (such as starfish and sea urchins), fully demonstrating the excellent sampling performance of the equipment in the deep-sea environment. In the future, this module will be used in deep-sea biodiversity surveys, marine conservation, deep-sea resource management, and long-term ecological monitoring in specific sea areas.

The National Academia Sinica Marine Center successfully developed a deep-sea high-flow eDNA sampling module. (Provided by National Research Institute)