An innovative DNA test has been developed that allows the health of seas and oceans and the microbial life that inhabits them to be diagnosed in an extremely accurate and complete way.
The technique is based on the collection of the so-called environmental DNA, which allows us to assess whether and to what extent the oceans can effectively protect the planet from climate change.
The result, published in the journal Nature Communications, is due to the collaboration between the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, of the University of California at San Diego, and the Craig Venter Institute.
After collecting seawater samples, the researchers scanned them for all the DNA present to identify a complete picture of the microorganisms present, just as commercial DNA testing companies identify people's genetic profiles and their family trees.
The method is a significant step forward compared to other techniques, which provide information only on a more general and less detailed level.
The goal is to use the new test to assess how the ocean food web affects the abundance of commercially important fish or harmful algal blooms.
“It's the green sampling method of the future,” says Chase James, head of the research team.
"This is the first time this approach has been used in a long-term context - adds James - and it revealed what is found when all the hidden diversity of the oceans is finally revealed."
Indeed, the new technique greatly improves researchers' ability to diagnose oceans and microbial life: microscopic plants, animals and other organisms.
In this case, for example, it made it possible to identify the most important factor behind the quantity and distribution of organisms in the waters off the coast of California: the availability of nutrients.
