Berelson Mia F G, Heavens Darren, Nicholson Paul, Clark Matthew D, Leggett Richard M
Earlham Institute, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UZ, UK.
John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK.
Microbiology (Reading). 2025 May;171(5). doi: 10.1099/mic.0.001564.
Historically, the analysis of airborne biological organisms relied on microscopy and culture-based techniques. However, technological advances such as PCR and next-generation sequencing now provide researchers with the ability to gather vast amounts of data on airborne environmental DNA (eDNA). Studies typically involve capturing airborne biological material, followed by nucleic acid extraction, library preparation, sequencing and taxonomic identification to characterize the eDNA at a given location. These methods have diverse applications, including pathogen detection in agriculture and human health, air quality monitoring, bioterrorism detection and biodiversity monitoring. A variety of methods are used for airborne eDNA analysis, as no single pipeline meets all needs. This review outlines current methods for sampling, extraction, sequencing and bioinformatic analysis, highlighting how different approaches can influence the resulting data and their suitability for specific use cases. It also explores current applications of airborne eDNA sampling and identifies research gaps in the field.
从历史上看，对空气传播生物有机体的分析依赖于显微镜检查和基于培养的技术。然而，诸如聚合酶链反应（PCR）和新一代测序等技术进步，现在为研究人员提供了收集大量关于空气传播环境DNA（eDNA）数据的能力。研究通常包括捕获空气传播的生物材料，然后进行核酸提取、文库制备、测序和分类鉴定，以表征给定位置的eDNA。这些方法有多种应用，包括农业和人类健康中的病原体检测、空气质量监测、生物恐怖主义检测和生物多样性监测。由于没有单一的流程能满足所有需求，因此用于空气传播eDNA分析的方法多种多样。本综述概述了当前用于采样、提取、测序和生物信息学分析的方法，强调了不同方法如何影响所得数据及其对特定用例的适用性。它还探讨了空气传播eDNA采样的当前应用，并确定了该领域的研究空白。
