{"id":25958,"date":"2022-10-05T13:35:11","date_gmt":"2022-10-05T12:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/?p=25958"},"modified":"2022-10-05T13:35:11","modified_gmt":"2022-10-05T12:35:11","slug":"dna-to-help-analyse-responses-of-marine-life-to-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/dna-to-help-analyse-responses-of-marine-life-to-climate-change\/25958\/","title":{"rendered":"DNA to help analyse responses of marine life to climate change"},"content":{"rendered":"
The oldest marine DNA in deep-sea sediments of the Antarctic continent was discovered in a study led by the <\/span>University of Tasmania<\/span><\/a>, in collaboration with the <\/span>University of Bonn<\/span><\/a>. This could be dated to one million years, demonstrating that DNA can be the path to studying the long-term responses of marine life to <\/span>climate change<\/span><\/a>. This recognition will assist in the assessment of the present and future changes in marine life around Antarctica.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The study appeared in the journal <\/span>Nature Communications<\/span><\/i>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As Antarctica is extremely vulnerable to climate change, it is critical that researchers study the past and present responses of the marine ecosystem and polar marine life to changes in the environment.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A new technique, called sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) analysis, enables researchers to interpret what type of marine life once lived in the ocean, and when they lived there. When the composition of this has gone through major shifts, it can often be related to climate change. This knowledge can allow researchers to make predictions about how Antarctica\u2019s marine life will respond to climate change, now and in the future.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A team of researchers used sedaDNA to analyse sediments acquired during the IODP Expedition 382 ‘Iceberg Alley and Subantarctic Ice and Ocean Dynamics’ in 2019. They used this to look at the changes in the structures of marine life in the Scotia Sea over the last one million years. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The team first undertook thorough contamination control to ensure that the sedaDNA signals were authentic. This was ensured in the investigation of characteristic age-related damage patterns in the recovered DNA fragments. Ancient DNA as old as one million years was detected.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nStudying Antarctica\u2019s marine life with sedimentary ancient DNA<\/h3>\n
Data revealed by the study<\/h3>\n