Journal article

Detecting invertebrate species in archived collections using next-generation sequencing

ME Carew, L Metzeling, R St Clair, AA Hoffmann

Molecular Ecology Resources | WILEY | Published : 2017

Abstract

Invertebrate biodiversity measured at mostly family level is widely used in biological monitoring programmes to assess anthropogenic impacts on ecosystems. However, next-generation sequencing (NGS) could allow development of new more sensitive biomonitoring tools by allowing rapid species identification. This could be accelerated if archived invertebrate collections and environmental information from past programmes are used to understand species distributions and their environmental responses. In this study, we take archived macroinvertebrate samples from two sites collected on multiple occasions and test whether NGS can successfully detect species. Samples had been stored in 70% ethanol at..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

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Funding Acknowledgements

The authors thank Michael Shackleton, David Cartwright and John Dean for the use of their DNA barcode information. We also thank Rahul Rane for his advice in the laboratory and on data analysis and Isabel Valenzuela for assistance with primer selection. This study was funded primarily by the Australian Research Council through their Linkage and Fellowship schemes, with additional support from Melbourne Water Corporation, the Victorian Government and EPA Victoria.