- Taher M. Ghazal
Faculty of Computing and IT, Sohar University, Oman; Department of Networks and Cybersecurity, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman, Jordan; Center for Cyber Security, Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
taher.ghazal@ieee.org 0000-0003-0672-7924 - Ghaleb Oriquat
Medical Laboratory Sciences Department, Faculty of Allied Medical Sciences, Hourani Center for Applied Scientific Research, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman, Jordan.
goreqat@ammanu.edu.jo 0000-0003-4443-628X - Musab A. M. Al-Tarawni
Research Consulting Lab, Marl, NRW, Germany National University of Malaysia, Department of Electrical, Electronic and Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Build Environment, Bangi, Malaysia.
musab841@yahoo.com 0000-0003-0488-8134 - Syed Muqtar Ahmed
Software Engineering department, College of Engineering, University of Business and Technology, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
syedahmed@ubt.edu.sa 0000-0003-1636-3618
Volume 10 - No: 3
Enhanced eDNA Recovery from Microplastic-Polluted Freshwater Systems Using Surfactant-Assisted Bead-Beating with Enzymatic Digestion
DOI: 10.28978/nesciences.1811139
Keywords: Microplastics, environmental DNA (eDNA), freshwater ecosystems, biodiversity monitoring, surfactant-assisted bead-beating, enzymatic digestion, kang river, pollution, species detection, water quality.
Abstract
Microplastic pollution in freshwater ecosystems significantly hampers efforts to monitor biodiversity, particularly when using eDNA (environmental DNA) methodologies, which are crucial for tracking species within water bodies. eDNA recovery techniques, which are quite advanced, are hindered in contaminated areas due to the presence of microplastics. This study proposes an improved eDNA retrieval method that integrates surfactant-assisted bead-beating and enzymatic digestion. The proposed methodology enhances eDNA retrieval by reducing the effects of microplastics and complicated environmental matrix blending. This study validates the proposed technique by testing against standard eDNA recovery techniques, such as filtration and chemical digestion. These field studies on the Kang River in China, which is microplastic-contaminated, have shown the best results. This method brings hope for effective biodiversity surveillance in freshwater ecosystems, which are impacted by pollution.