New Research Reveals Environmental DNA Captured by Air Quality Monitors

Scientists have discovered that air quality monitoring stations, designed to test for pollution, are also capturing significant amounts of DNA that can indicate the presence of various plants and animals in the vicinity. This innovative method may provide a solution to the ongoing challenge of monitoring biodiversity, as detailed in a recent study published in Current Biology.

The research indicates that biodiversity data has been inadvertently collected on a vast scale for decades, unnoticed until now, according to Elizabeth Clare, a biologist at York University in Canada and one of the study’s authors. As animals and plants live and die, they leave traces of their genetic material—such as scales, fur, feathers, and pollen—in their environments.

While scientists have long utilised environmental DNA in aquatic settings to track species in lakes and rivers, obtaining genetic information about terrestrial organisms has proven more difficult. Kristine Bohmann, an expert in environmental DNA from the University of Copenhagen, noted the challenges of gathering genetic data from land-dwelling species.

In 2021, both Bohmann and Clare conducted similar experiments to determine if it was possible to extract animal DNA from the air. Using vacuum pumps in local zoos, their teams successfully sequenced DNA from numerous species. “You can actually, in a Ghostbuster kind of way, vacuum DNA out of the air,” Bohmann remarked.

Building on this foundation, Clare and her team conducted a larger-scale study involving air filters from two monitoring stations in London and Scotland, part of a national pollution testing network. After extracting DNA from the filters, they identified over 180 different species of plants and animals, as noted by Joanne Littlefair, a biologist at Queen Mary University of London.

The filters revealed a diverse array of wildlife, including grasses, fungi, deer, hedgehogs, and various songbirds—along with the ever-present pigeon, as Littlefair pointed out. The researchers aim to extend this method to monitor ecosystems globally, addressing the pressing issue of biodiversity decline, which is difficult to assess on a large scale.

With existing air quality monitoring systems already in place, the potential for this approach is significant. James Allerton, an air quality scientist at the UK’s National Physical Laboratory, highlighted that many countries maintain networks for air quality testing and often archive old filters for extended periods. These archives could provide valuable insights into how ecosystems have evolved over time.

Further research is necessary to determine whether the data obtained from these filters can reliably indicate long-term biodiversity trends. Fabian Roger, working on a similar initiative at ETH Zurich in Switzerland, expressed enthusiasm about the possibility of using established systems to monitor wildlife effectively.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group, with all content produced solely by the AP.