EDNA technology for finding biological traces in air samples

A research team from Queen Mary University at the University of London has published a study on how to collect biological DNA from air samples. This empirical study, published in the journal PeerJ, shows the possibility of applying environmental DNA, eDNA (environmental DNA), which have been mainly used in aquatic ecosystem research so far, to the fields of ecology, health science, and medicine.

Organisms such as animals and plants release DNA in the relationship with the surrounding environment, and this is called eDNA. eDNA has been mainly studied to investigate items contained in water or soil. However, the new study looked at whether eDNA could be collected from air samples and used to identify animal species.

The research team confirmed that it can detect not only the mouse but also the working human DNA by collecting eDNA from the air sample of the room where the Heterocephalus glaber breeding and nesting underground, and examining the sequence using conventional techniques. did.

This technology was originally used to study the ecological and biological environment, but according to the research team, it is possible to detect human DNA in this experiment, suggesting the possibility of application in the field of forensic medicine as this sampling technology further develops. To put it plainly, at the crime scene, the CSI can check the eDNA and trace the traces of the perpetrators at the scene. Also, bacterial virologists might understand how viruses like Corona 19 spread infection if the technology could be used.

However, it will still take time to put this technology into practical use. The research team is working on commercialization in cooperation with private companies such as NatureMetrics. However, there is a possibility that various miscellaneous DNAs will be detected in crowded places and the necessary things will be buried. However, if this technology can be used in a situation where no evidence is found, DNA, which is the decisive means, will be discovered, and you will be able to think about helping to solve something. Related information can be found here.