TY - JOUR
T1 - Plant–animal interactions in the era of environmental DNA (eDNA)—A review
AU - Banerjee, Pritam
AU - Stewart, Kathryn A.
AU - Antognazza, Caterina M.
AU - Bunholi, Ingrid V.
AU - Deiner, Kristy
AU - Barnes, Matthew A.
AU - Saha, Santanu
AU - Verdier, Héloïse
AU - Doi, Hideyuki
AU - Maity, Jyoti Prakash
AU - Chan, Michael W.Y.
AU - Chen, Chien Yen
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. Environmental DNA published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
PY - 2022/9
Y1 - 2022/9
N2 - Plant–animal interactions (PAI) represent major channels of energy transfer through ecosystems, where both positive and antagonistic interactions simultaneously contribute to ecosystem functioning. Monitoring PAI therefore increases the understanding of environmental health, integrity, and functioning, and studying complex interactions through accurate, cost-effective sampling can aid in the management of detrimental anthropogenic impacts. Environmental DNA (eDNA)-based monitoring represents an increasingly common, nondestructive approach for biodiversity monitoring, which could help to elucidate PAI. Here, we aim to provide an overall discussion on the potential of using eDNA to study PAI. We assessed the existing literature on this subject from 2009 to 2021 using a freely accessible web search tool. The search was conducted by using keywords involving eDNA and PAI, including both species-specific and metabarcoding approaches, recovering 43 studies. We summarized the advantages and current limitations of such approaches, and we outline research priorities to improve future eDNA-based methods for PAI analysis. Among the 43 studies identified using eDNA to measure PAI such as pollination, herbivory, mutualistic, and parasitic relationships, they have often identified higher taxonomic diversity in several direct comparisons with DNA-based gut/bulk sampling and conventional survey methods. Research needs include the following: better understanding of the influencing factors of eDNA detection involved in PAI (e.g., eDNA degradation, origin, and types), methodological standardization (sampling methods and primer development), and more inclusive sequence reference databases. If these research priorities are addressed, it will have a significant impact to enable PAI biodiversity monitoring with eDNA. In the future, the implementation of eDNA methods to study PAI can particularly benefit the scalability of environmental biomonitoring surveys that are imperative for ecosystem health assessments.
AB - Plant–animal interactions (PAI) represent major channels of energy transfer through ecosystems, where both positive and antagonistic interactions simultaneously contribute to ecosystem functioning. Monitoring PAI therefore increases the understanding of environmental health, integrity, and functioning, and studying complex interactions through accurate, cost-effective sampling can aid in the management of detrimental anthropogenic impacts. Environmental DNA (eDNA)-based monitoring represents an increasingly common, nondestructive approach for biodiversity monitoring, which could help to elucidate PAI. Here, we aim to provide an overall discussion on the potential of using eDNA to study PAI. We assessed the existing literature on this subject from 2009 to 2021 using a freely accessible web search tool. The search was conducted by using keywords involving eDNA and PAI, including both species-specific and metabarcoding approaches, recovering 43 studies. We summarized the advantages and current limitations of such approaches, and we outline research priorities to improve future eDNA-based methods for PAI analysis. Among the 43 studies identified using eDNA to measure PAI such as pollination, herbivory, mutualistic, and parasitic relationships, they have often identified higher taxonomic diversity in several direct comparisons with DNA-based gut/bulk sampling and conventional survey methods. Research needs include the following: better understanding of the influencing factors of eDNA detection involved in PAI (e.g., eDNA degradation, origin, and types), methodological standardization (sampling methods and primer development), and more inclusive sequence reference databases. If these research priorities are addressed, it will have a significant impact to enable PAI biodiversity monitoring with eDNA. In the future, the implementation of eDNA methods to study PAI can particularly benefit the scalability of environmental biomonitoring surveys that are imperative for ecosystem health assessments.
KW - biodiversity loss
KW - biodiversity sampling
KW - conservation management
KW - ecosystem functioning
KW - environmental DNA (eDNA)
KW - molecular ecology
KW - nondestructive
KW - plant–animal interactions (PAI)
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85130253713&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/edn3.308
DO - 10.1002/edn3.308
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85130253713
SN - 2637-4943
JO - Environmental DNA
JF - Environmental DNA
ER -