Miss Abinaya Meenakshisundaram1,2, Dr Luke Thomas1,2, Dr Simon Jarman3, Dr Jason Kennington1
1The University of Western Australia (UWA), Perth, Australia, 2The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), Perth, Australia, 3Curtin University, Perth, Australia
Biography:
Abinaya (pronounced – Ah-bee-nah-yah) is a PhD candidate at the University of Western Australia, working in collaboration with the Australian Institute of Marine Science and the Minderoo Foundation. Her doctoral thesis is on the development of novel molecular techniques to obtain abundance estimates and population-level inferences from environmental DNA, with a special focus on studying the population genetic characteristics of the whale shark aggregation at Ningaloo Reef World Heritage site. She has a Master's degree in conservation biology and a Bachelor's degree in Genetic engineering.
Abstract:
Moving beyond simple biodiversity estimates, sequencing of eDNA from seawater samples holds great promise for estimates of intra-specific diversity and abundance. The field of human forensic science uses short segments of DNA (100–300bp) containing two or more SNPs called “microhaplotypes” as a solution to the problem of identifying individuals from mixed DNA samples found in crime scenes. Developing robust methods for amplifying these highly polymorphic microhaplotype markers from water samples could assist in steady, long-term monitoring of large marine species, such as whale sharks (Rhincodon typus), that are highly migratory and elusive, making observational monitoring challenging. Through this research, we demonstrate that microhaplotype panels can be used to estimate abundance and population-level allele frequencies from eDNA samples using in-aquaria and field-based approaches. We combine controlled experiments using a zebra fish model system with field-based sampling of whale shark aggregations along the Ningaloo Reef World Heritage site. Our research demonstrates the effectiveness of amplifying microhaplotype panels from seawater eDNA to study natural populations.