shotgun sequencing Archives - Astrobiology

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

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 […]

Robust air microbiome assessments through nanopore shotgun sequencing

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Life Support Systems, Microbiology & Virology, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Panspermia, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Space Life Science, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

Tricorder Tech: Air Monitoring By Nanopore Sequencing

by Keith CowingDecember 26, 2023December 26, 2023

Editor’s note: Upon entering a spacecraft or arriving on a new, inhabited world, you would probably like to have your tricorder to have the ability to do a quick assay […]