Using DNA in the air to monitor insect biodiversity

Scientists at Lund University have discovered for the first time that it is possible to detect insect DNA in the air

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The insects found include many important species, such as bees, moths, flies, beetles, wasps and ants

In many areas, insects are declining at an alarming rate, but we also know very little about the number of existing species

Fabian Roger said: “In the face of the biodiversity crisis, we urgently need better information about the status and distribution of species

Collecting DNA from the air is more beneficial than traditional sampling methods

In this study, when the researchers compared the survey results with traditional survey results, they found some overlap in the species detected

Fabian added: "Considering the huge challenges we face in monitoring millions of species on the planet, this is definitely a situation where everyone is involved.

The development of environmental DNA or eDNA is an exciting new technology that provides faster, more sensitive and more powerful tools for biodiversity monitoring

Next, scientists will optimize methods to improve the reliability of DNA tuple encoding in the air

"We are in the early stages of exploring the DNA of the air environment other than bacteria, pollen, or spores-even so, we are only touching the surface