Mrs Maria Fernanda Goicochea Durand1, Professor Frank Karlsen1, Professor Lars Eric Roseng1
1University Of South-Eastern Norway, Borre, Norway
Biography:
Maria Fernanda Goicochea Durand is a PhD candidate in Norway working on DNA- and RNA-based molecular detection for rapid diagnostics and monitoring. She holds a Master’s degree in Microbiology from the University of Bergen in Norway and a Bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology from Universidad Científica del Sur in Peru. Her research experience includes environmental microbiology, molecular biology, metagenomics, and bioinformatics. Her current doctoral research focuses on developing and evaluating molecular detection approaches for implementation in lab-on-a-chip systems, with an emphasis on rapid analysis and potential applications in environmental monitoring and health diagnostics.
Abstract:
Environmental DNA (eDNA) and environmental RNA (eRNA) can provide complementary information for aquatic biomonitoring. However, their recovery may vary with environmental matrix, biological target, and analytical approach. Understanding these differences is important for developing monitoring strategies that capture ecologically informative molecular signals. This study evaluates how water and sediment influence eDNA and eRNA detection across freshwater indicators and assesses extraction and amplification approaches for multi-target monitoring.
Paired water and sediment samples from Borrevannet and Akersvannet, two Norwegian freshwater lakes, were processed using commercial extraction kits and an in-house silica-based Boom extraction method. Nucleic acids were analyzed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), and reverse-transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP). Targets included northern pike, brown trout, European eel, Escherichia coli, Listeria spp., Microcystis spp., and the microcystin-synthesis genes mcyA and mcyE, spanning vertebrate biodiversity, microbial indicators, cyanobacteria, gene presence, and transcriptional signals.
All investigated targets were detected in at least one environmental sample. eDNA was more frequently detected in sediment samples, whereas eRNA showed the opposite pattern, with greater detection in water. Both commercial and in-house extraction approaches recovered targets across biological groups, while LAMP and RT-LAMP broadly reproduced corresponding PCR and RT-PCR detections.
These findings indicate that matrix selection can strongly influence the environmental nucleic-acid detection patterns, with water and sediment providing complementary information for eDNA- and eRNA-based detection. Considering both matrices and nucleic-acid types may therefore improve the breadth of molecular information captured through multi-target freshwater biomonitoring.