Matsuhashi Saeko, Doi Hideyuki, Fujiwara Ayaka, Watanabe Sonoko, Minamoto Toshifumi
Graduate School of Simulation Studies, University of Hyogo, Minatojima-minami-machi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Japan.
Graduate School of Human Development and Environment, Kobe University, Tsurukabuto, Nada-ku, Kobe, Japan.
PLoS One. 2016 Jun 15;11(6):e0156217. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0156217. eCollection 2016.
The environmental DNA (eDNA) method has increasingly been recognized as a powerful tool for monitoring aquatic animal species; however, its application for monitoring aquatic plants is limited. To evaluate eDNA analysis for estimating the distribution of aquatic plants, we compared its estimated distributions with eDNA analysis, visual observation, and past distribution records for the submerged species Hydrilla verticillata. Moreover, we conducted aquarium experiments using H. verticillata and Egeria densa and analyzed the relationships between eDNA concentrations and plant biomass to investigate the potential for biomass estimation. The occurrences estimated by eDNA analysis closely corresponded to past distribution records, and eDNA detections were more frequent than visual observations, indicating that the method is potentially more sensitive. The results of the aquarium experiments showed a positive relationship between plant biomass and eDNA concentration; however, the relationship was not always significant. The eDNA concentration peaked within three days of the start of the experiment in most cases, suggesting that plants do not release constant amounts of DNA. These results showed that eDNA analysis can be used for distribution surveys, and has the potential to estimate the biomass of aquatic plants.
环境DNA（eDNA）方法越来越被认为是监测水生动物物种的有力工具；然而，其在监测水生植物方面的应用有限。为了评估eDNA分析用于估计水生植物分布的情况，我们将其估计分布与eDNA分析、目视观察以及沉水物种黑藻的过去分布记录进行了比较。此外，我们使用黑藻和伊乐藻进行了水族箱实验，并分析了eDNA浓度与植物生物量之间的关系，以研究生物量估计的潜力。通过eDNA分析估计的出现情况与过去的分布记录密切对应，并且eDNA检测比目视观察更频繁，这表明该方法可能更敏感。水族箱实验结果表明植物生物量与eDNA浓度之间存在正相关关系；然而，这种关系并不总是显著的。在大多数情况下，eDNA浓度在实验开始后的三天内达到峰值，这表明植物不会释放恒定数量的DNA。这些结果表明，eDNA分析可用于分布调查，并有可能估计水生植物的生物量。
