Dr Jamie Wood1, Siobhan Evans1, Demelza Metha1, Thom Harvey1, Luke Jackman1, Sarah Vauvert1, Jeremy Austin1, Theresa Cole1, Diana Fusco2, Bastien Llamas1, Jess Marsh1, Vilma Perez1, Shyamsunder Ravishankar1, Liz Reed1, Leonard Taufik1, Damien Fordham1
1Adelaide University, , Australia, 2Flinders University, , Australia
Biography:
Dr Wood's research integrates evolutionary and ancient environmental genomics approaches with other techniques (e.g., palynology, stable isotopes) to reconstruct ecological and environmental change over the past 50,000 years. Specific areas of research expertise include environmental DNA, palaeodiets, and conservation paleobiology.
Abstract:
Australia is widely regarded as a challenging environment for ancient environmental DNA (aeDNA) research because climatic and geological conditions are thought to promote rapid DNA degradation. Consequently, the potential for aeDNA preservation and recovery across the continent has received limited investigation. Here, we demonstrate that this potential may have been substantially underestimated through three independent studies spanning diverse substrates and regions of Australia. First, we assess the recovery of historic-age (250 to 1,000 years old) mammal and plant DNA from thin sediment deposits preserved within relatively exposed rock overhangs and crevices. Second, we analyse DNA from palaeoscats collected from Nullarbor caves, with estimated ages from approximately 1,000 to 10,000 years ago. Third, we investigate more than 150 cave sediment samples from southeastern Australia and recover authenticated DNA from extinct mammal species in deposits older than 65,000 years. Collectively, these studies expand both the range of viable sample substrates and the known temporal limits of terrestrial aeDNA preservation in Australia, and the Southern Hemisphere more broadly. Our findings demonstrate that Australian environments can preserve informative aeDNA records across a wide range of timescales and highlight the considerable potential of aeDNA research for reconstructing the continent’s ecological history.