A National eDNA Network is needed

A national workshop on Environmental DNA (eDNA) at the University of Guelph called the Pathway to Increase Standards and Competency of eDNA Surveys (PISCeS) brought together international research experts, regulators, and consultants for a very informative two days in October, 2018.

A key message was that the technology and applications are here, but that standardization of methods will be important. This is partly why regulators have yet to widely accept eDNA as a monitoring method to replace or supplement traditional field methods. The outcome of an open discussion concluded that a National eDNA Network is needed. A national network would help facilitate this knowledge exchange and help consolidate research approaches towards this goal. The launch of a new journal, Environmental DNA, was also announced and will help advance the field.

The second day, hosted by Precision Biomonitoring, consisted of an eDNA tools training session, with representatives from Smith-Root and Biomeme demonstrating cutting-edge products, namely the ANDe backpack filtration system and Biomeme real-time PCR platform .

If you missed the event, the entire workshop was recorded and posted on YouTube! You can watch the presentations here. You can also follow the discussion on Twitter @PISCeS_eDNA.

Some really useful links:

• Washington State University Tool and Resources – Environmental DNA Toolbox! (They’re also on Twitter @eDNAresources)
• European Union Website DNAquaNet.
• EPRI eDNA Knowledge Center
• Biodiversity Institute of Ontario 
• Environmental DNA journal