Collection
Exploring environmental DNA
Metabarcoding workflow and open data resources for eDNA research
Time to complete:
> 3 hours
This course includes:
Written by:
Last reviewed:
September 2024
All materials are free cultural works licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, except where further licensing details are provided.
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DNA metabarcoding is used to analyse environmental samples for biodiversity studies, ecosystem monitoring, and species identification. This collection provides an in-depth exploration of modern concepts, methodologies, and technological progress in metabarcoding, elucidating its significance in biodiversity assessment via environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis. It also provides guidance on sharing research data through open-access resources.
Who is this course for?
This course is designed for any researchers who have an interest in studying biodiversity. An undergraduate-level knowledge of biology would be an advantage.
This collection has been developed in collaboration with NEOF and UKCEH.
The development of this collection was supported by funding from UKRI NERC (UK Research and Innovation Natural Environment Research Council).
What will I achieve?
By the end of the course you will be able to:
- Describe applications of eDNA metabarcoding for biomonitoring and biodiversity studies
- Summarise the methodology relating to eDNA metabarcoding from sample design, to molecular approaches for data generation, through to analysis of data
- Apply bioinformatic analysis of high-throughput sequence data to metabarcoding studies
- List data resources that make eDNA data publicly available
- Describe the process of sharing, finding, and using publicly available data
DOI:
10.6019/TOL.eDNA-metabarcoding-biodiversity-t.2024.00001.1
Course contents
- Environmental DNA
- DNA metabarcoding and its applications
- Workflow for eDNA metabarcoding
- DADA2 for analysing metabarcoding data
- Taxonomic classification to assess biodiversity
- Statistics principles in data analysis
- Advances in biodiversity exploration
- Open data resources for eDNA
- Bringing data to life: Data management and sharing
- Further learning
- Your feedback
- References
How and when to access the course
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The average time to read through the main body of the course is 3 hours (not including exercises and external links). The time may vary depending on your prior knowledge and how you choose to work through the course.
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Activities
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Learn more
You can explore other training on offer from EMBL-EBI on our website. We offer online courses, webinars, face-to-face courses and offsite training.