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eDNA Meta-Barcoding

Definition

Environmental DNA analysis using PCR amplification of a target gene region from a complex environmental sample (water, soil), followed by high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatic assignment of reads to taxa. Applied to diatom testing using the 18S rRNA gene to generate a species-composition profile from water and bone-marrow digests.

Related terms

Diatom Test
A laboratory test for ante-mortem submersion in which bone marrow (from sealed femur diaphysis) is acid-digested and the diatom species identified in...
Frustule
The silica cell wall of a diatom, composed of two overlapping valves (epitheca and hypotheca). Frustules are taxonomically distinctive, chemically resistant to...
matK
Maturase K gene, located in the chloroplast trnK intron. The second CBOL-approved plant barcode marker, with an approximately 870 bp diagnostic amplicon....
RAPD (Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA)
A PCR technique using short arbitrary primers (8-10 bases) that bind at multiple sites across a genome, generating a fingerprint pattern of...
rbcL
A chloroplast gene encoding the large subunit of RuBisCO (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase). One of the two CBOL-standardized plant barcode loci. Widely amplifiable but...
Sporopollenin
The highly chemically inert polymer forming the outer wall (exine) of pollen grains and spores. Resistant to acid, alkali, oxidation, and biological...

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