Introducing the Pest Alert Tool for screening metabarcoding data and informing biosecurity managers on the presence of unwanted species.

Dr Anastasija Zaiko1,2, Dr. John Pearman1, Dr. Ulla von Ammon1, Dr. Xavier Pochon1,2, Eugene  Georgiades3, Abraham Growcott3, Dr. Maximilian Scheel1

1Cawthron Institute, Nelson, New Zealand, 2Institute of Marine Science, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand, 3Ministry for Primary Industries, Wellington, New Zealand

Abstract:

Advances in high-throughput sequencing (HTS) technologies and their increasing affordability have fueled environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding data generation from freshwater, marine, and terrestrial ecosystems. Research institutions worldwide increasingly employ HTS methods for biodiversity assessments. Moreover, almost anyone including citizen scientists, can now collect an eDNA sample and send it to a specialized laboratory for in-depth exploration of biodiversity. This offers unprecedented opportunities for integrative analyses and comparisons of biodiversity patterns as well as detecting biological threats across wide temporal and spatial scales. The large volume of data produced by metabarcoding also raises the possibility of dramatically enhancing incidental detection of species of concern, including non-indigenous and pathogenic species. Reporting unverified biosecurity risks from HTS data, however, may lead to a rapid increase in workload for biosecurity managers for minimal benefit, if a false positive, and even potential legal entanglements for researchers. Furthermore, researchers conducting HTS-based biodiversity surveys might be unaware of the biosecurity threats occurring in their region and overlook ramifications with key end-users concerned with the spread of unwanted organisms. We introduce an online app, developed for screening pre-publication HTS datasets for species of concern and showcase its applicability for secondary quality assurance steps or reporting of putative threat to the environmental agencies. The tool is setup to screen nuclear small subunit 18S ribosomal RNA (18S rRNA) and cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) genes for marine non-indigenous species as well as unwanted and notifiable marine organisms in New Zealand but can be extended for other regions or applications.


Biography:

Anastasija is a member of the Biosecurity Team at the Cawthron Institute. She is involved in the development and validation of eDNA/eRNA-based tools for the routine environmental monitoring in aquatic ecosystems, ecological health indicators and a range of projects focusing on different biosecurity aspects. Currently, Anastasija co-leads the Marine Biosecurity Toolbox programme and oversees the DETECT research theme to ensure effective integration of molecular approaches into the developing biosecurity toolbox. Also, as a co-appointee at the University of Auckland, Institute of Marine Sciences, she supervises post-graduate students working in marine ecology and biosecurity research areas.

Date

Mar 21 - 23 2022
Expired!