Monitoring newt communities in urban area using eDNA metabarcoding

Article Article scientifique Article Monitoring newt communities in urban area using eDNA metabarcoding eng 2021-11-26 author Charvoz Léo Department of Genetics and Evolution, University of Geneva, Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. 780871 author Apotheloz-Perret-Gentil Laure Department of Genetics and Evolution, University of Geneva, Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.,ID-Gene ecodiagnostics, Campus Biotech Innovation Park, Geneva, Switzerland. 632012 author Reo Emanuela Department of Genetics and Evolution, University of Geneva, Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. 501888 author Thiebaud Jacques KARCH-GE (Swiss Coordination Center for the Protection of Amphibians and Reptiles)-Geneva Regional Branch, Switzerland, Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. 30223 author Pawlowski Jan Wojciech Department of Genetics and Evolution, University of Geneva, Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.,ID-Gene ecodiagnostics, Campus Biotech Innovation Park, Geneva, Switzerland.,Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Sopot, Pomerania, Poland. 23432 e12357 10.7717/peerj.12357 34900410 2167-8359 PMC8628619 https://peerj.com/articles/12357 Newts are amphibians commonly present in small ponds or garden pools in urban areas. They are protected in many countries and their presence is monitored through visual observation and/or trapping. However, newts are not easy to spot as they are small, elusive and often hidden at the bottom of water bodies. In recent years, environmental DNA (eDNA) has become a popular tool for detecting newts, with a focus on individual species using qPCR assays. Here, we assess the effectiveness of eDNA metabarcoding compared to conventional visual surveys of newt diversity in 45 ponds within urban areas of Geneva canton, Switzerland. We designed newt-specific mitochondrial 16S rRNA primers, which assign the majority of amplicons to newts, and were able to detect four species known to be present in the region, including the invasive subspecies <i>Lissotriton vulgaris meridionalis</i> , native to the Italian peninsula, that has been introduced in the Geneva area recently. The obtained eDNA results were congruent overall with conventional surveys, confirming the morphological observations in the majority of cases (67%). In 25% of cases, a species was only detected genetically, while in 8% of cases, the observations were not supported by eDNA metabarcoding. Our study confirms the usefulness of eDNA metabarcoding as a tool for the effective and non-invasive monitoring of newt community and suggests its broader use for the survey of newt diversity in urban area at larger scales. 16S Illumina Invasive Metabarcoding Monitoring Newt Water eDNA Dewey 590 44 Département de génétique et évolution 162 false PeerJ 9 67bf6aff-0f34-4f4b-bce7-23b2f572157b Article (Published version) Public Article_scientifique_from_crossref.pdf 758883 application/pdf CC BY-4.0 9f2ddc9c5dff2e334ae8f3eaa8d6ba0c03d9ea54118d422477445e2a98753cc4 openAccess Faculté des sciences / Section de biologie / Département de génétique et évolution

Title	Published in	Access level	OA Policy	Year	Views	Downloads

Monitoring newt communities in urban area using eDNA metabarcoding	PeerJ			2021	11	119

Archive ouverte UNIGE

Thiebaud, Jacques