Course Description

Exploration of the field of environmental DNA (eDNA), including its challenges and applications. Students will learn about the principal eDNA methodologies, including metagenomics, meta-transcriptomics, microbiomics, and viromics, along with its applications in ecosystem monitoring, species identification, anthropology, forensics, and surveillance.

Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
This course offers advanced, cutting-edge, and multidisciplinary content that is especially well-suited for graduate students, while also challenging undergraduate students by pushing traditional academic boundaries. Therefore, there will be no need for special material or assignments for graduate students. Since graduate credit requires a higher standard of performance in presentations, written exams, and project assignments, written work and projects submitted by graduate students will be evaluated with greater rigor than those of undergraduates.

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Athena Title

Environmental DNA

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Prerequisite

(BIOL 1107 and BIOL 1107L) or (BIOL 1108 and BIOL 1108L) or (BIOL 2107H and BIOL 2107L) or (BIOL 2108H and BIOL 2108L) or (PBIO 1210 and PBIO 1210L) or (PBIO 1220 and PBIO 1220L) or permission of department

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Corequisite

PBIO 4800L/6800L

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Semester Course Offered

Offered every year.

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Grading System

A - F (Traditional)

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Student learning Outcomes

• Students will understand the principles of eDNA, including its key methodologies and wide-ranging applications.
• Students will learn and apply advanced genomics techniques—such as DNA sequencing, qRT-PCR, and LAMP assays—in the context of eDNA research.
• Students will identify the challenges and limitations of working with eDNA and explore both current solutions and innovative strategies to address them.
• Students will collaborate across disciplines by investigating real-world uses of eDNA in conservation, forensics, public health, and anthropology.
• Students will critically evaluate scientific literature and the biological questions it addresses.
• Students will develop scientific reports and deliver clear, effective presentations of research findings.

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Topical Outline

• o eDNA historical and current status overview
• o Approaches of eDNA profiling
• o Applications of eDNA research
• o Single-species detection
• o Functional diversity
• o Fresh and Marine water ecosystems
• o Terrestrial and Paleoenvironments
• o Host-associated microbiota
• o Epidemiology and Surveillance
• o Forensic and Anthropology
• o eDNA sampling and extraction challenges
• o Reference databases for analyzing eDNA
• o Bioinformatical methos of eDNA data analysis
• o Analysis of bulk samples
• o eDNA future overview

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Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes

Analytical Thinking

The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.

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