eDNA Archives

NOAA Ocean Exploration’s recently released environmental DNA (eDNA) data help us better understand what lives in the deep ocean. Among these data is evidence of invertebrates, like Crossota millsae (the jellyfish seen here); fish; marine mammals; microbes; and more. While some of the organisms found in these data have been seen on previous expeditions on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, others, like Macropinna microstoma (barreleye fish), remain elusive. Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2019 Southeastern U.S. Deep-sea Exploration. Download largest version (jpg, 893.9 KB).

Analog Studies, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Water World Genomics: Unlocking Ocean Secrets With eDNA

by Keith CowingMay 6, 2026May 6, 2026

Editor’s note: with recent speculation about the potential habitability of other worlds and understanding the processes whereby other biospheres arise and evolve, thought needs to be given to developing sensor […]

Cladogram of the full set of eukaryotic phyla identified by shotgun sequencing and metabarcoding. Branch colors represent kingdoms (blue, Metazoa; red, Fungi; green, Viridiplantae; pink, other eukaryotes). Three surrounding rings indicate phyla shared between shotgun sequencing and metabarcoding (gray), phyla uniquely detected with metabarcoding (yellow), and phyla uniquely detected with shotgun sequencing (blue). Information in the rings is summarized in a Venn diagram in the upper left corner. Taxa marked with an asterisk are no longer categorized as a phylum. -- Pensoft Publishers

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Tricorder Tech: A Simple Filter Swap Could Advance Marine eDNA Biomonitoring

by Keith CowingMay 5, 2026May 5, 2026

Air eDNA is vacuumed up from Dublin using simple laboratory equipment and an air filter. -- Nature Ecology & Evolution

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Tricorder Tech: Biosignature Detection: DNA Floating In The Air Tracks Life Forms

by Keith CowingJune 9, 2025June 9, 2025

Editor’s note: with recent speculation about the potential habitability of the clouds of Venus and the long-hypothesized notion of airborne life forms on Saturn and Jupiter these studies from Earth […]

MBARI’s Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) is a “lab in a can” capable of collecting and analyzing water samples. Scientists and resource managers can deploy the ESP to track down harmful toxins, assess water quality, or conduct biological surveys. Image: © MBARI

Exploration Gear & Tech, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ocean World Exploration Tech: MBARI’s Advanced Technology

by Keith CowingDecember 23, 2024December 23, 2024

MBARI’s Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) enables scientists and resource managers to monitor the health of remote aquatic environments. Equipped with advanced biological sensors and a wireless data connection, this “lab […]

Circles denote the location of eDNA samples collected and preserved by the ESP onboard Surveyor during its ~4200-km transit over 29 days (June 10–July 9, 2021) from San Francisco to the Hawaiian Islands. Transit across oceanographic domains, from the California Current upwelling system to the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, is represented by sea surface temperature (SST) from satellite remote sensing. Shown is the June 2021 average of multiscale ultra-high resolution (MUR) SST Analysis fv04.1, acquired from https://coastwatch.pfeg.noaa.gov/erddap/index.html.

Analog Studies, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ocean Planet Exploration Droids: Autonomous eDNA Collection Using An Uncrewed Surface Vessel

by Keith CowingNovember 30, 2024November 30, 2024

The collection of environmental DNA (eDNA) samples is often laborious, costly, and logistically difficult to accomplish at high frequency in remote locations and over large geographic areas.

(A and B) Circular phylogenetic tree of the microbial community composition exemplarily for the surface layer (0–5 cm depth) in Yungay (0.1% abundance); color codes reflect microbial classes (A). Clades unique to the e- or iDNA are shown in (B). Additionally, red and blue stars indicated predominate eDNA and iDNA clades in (A). NA means no taxonomic class. -- Applied and Environmental Microbiology

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Living Microbes Discovered In Earth’s Driest Desert

by Keith CowingNovember 18, 2024January 11, 2026

The Atacama Desert, which runs along the Pacific Coast in Chile, is the driest place on the planet and, largely because of that aridity, hostile to most living things. Not […]

Molecular geneticists Dr Leonie Suter (pictured) and Dr Georgia Nester trialled the use of eDNA to monitor zooplankton species in the Southern Ocean. Photo: Simon Payne

Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ocean World Genomics: Molecular Monitoring For Marine Change And Threats Using eDNA

by Keith CowingOctober 6, 2024October 6, 2024

New DNA* technology promises to improve efforts to monitor marine life in the Southern Ocean, and detect the presence of non-native marine species close to Antarctica.

eDNA

Water World Genomics: Unlocking Ocean Secrets With eDNA

Tricorder Tech: A Simple Filter Swap Could Advance Marine eDNA Biomonitoring

Tricorder Tech: Biosignature Detection: DNA Floating In The Air Tracks Life Forms

Ocean World Exploration Tech: MBARI’s Advanced Technology

Ocean Planet Exploration Droids: Autonomous eDNA Collection Using An Uncrewed Surface Vessel

Living Microbes Discovered In Earth’s Driest Desert

Ocean World Genomics: Molecular Monitoring For Marine Change And Threats Using eDNA

Dinosaur-killing Asteroid Also Created A Dust Cloud That Insulated Earth, Charbroiling Cretaceous Creatures

Current Water Trapping Micro-habitats On The Surface Of Mars

Methanotrophy Under Extreme Alkalinity In A Serpentinizing System

ANDES, The High-resolution Spectrograph Oof The ELT: Simulated Performance Of The CORO Module And Overview Of The High-contrast Capabilities For Exoplanet Observations

When Polymers Meet Primitive Membranes: How Molecular Cooperation May Have Helped Life Begin