Airborne DNA could aid biodiversity and biosecurity surveillance if three gaps are closed
The air around us is filled with genetic traces from plants, animals, microbes, and people. Scientists increasingly hope to use this airborne DNA to monitor ecosystems, detect biological threats, and track pathogens without having to capture the organisms themselves.
But finding DNA in the air does not necessarily reveal what is alive, active, or dangerous.
In a correspondence article published in Nature, Fumito Maruyama, professor at Hiroshima University’s The IDEC Institute, and an international group of researchers identify three unresolved gaps in sampling, interpretation, and governance.
They argue that these must be addressed before suitable airborne DNA monitoring technologies can be reliably deployed in real-world surveillance.
These findings were subsequently published by Hiroshima University and in Asia Research News.