Towards DNA chip technology as a standard analytical tool for the identification of marine organisms in biodiversity and ecosystem science (EU Project FISH&CHIPS)
Partners
- Centre for Applied Gensensorik (CAG), University of Bremen, Germany
- Universidad de Oviedo, Spain
- InfoConsult Gesellschaft fuer Informationstechnik mbH, Germany
- Prokaria, Iceland
- Institute of Marine Biology of Crete, Greece
- Alfred Wegener Institut für Polar und Meeresforschung (AWI), Germany
- Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Université de Perpignan (CNRS), France
- Exiqon A/S, Denmark
- Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Italy
- Mustafa Kemal University, College of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Turkey
Objectives
The aim of the “Fish & Chips” project is the development of DNA chips for the identification of marine organisms in European Seas as a cost effective, reliable and efficient technology in marine biodiversity and ecosystem science. Many marine organisms, such as (1) eggs and larvae of fishes and invertebrates, (2) zoo- and phytoplankton, and (3) benthic invertebrates, are difficult to identify by morphological characters, and for many groups the skills of specialised taxonomists are needed. The classical microscopy methods are extremely time consuming and require a high degree of taxonomic expertise. Consequently, the basic step of identifying such organisms is a major bottleneck in marine biodiversity and ecosystem science.
The “Fish & Chips” project aims to demonstrate that DNA chips can be a new innovative tool for the identification of marine animals and phytoplankton.
The fish chips will comprise capture oligandonucleotides for fish of the North Sea, Baltic Sea, North-Eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Black Sea. This chip will facilitate ecosystem research in terms of ichthyoplankton community studies, as well as dispersal of fish eggs and larvae.
The phytoplankton chip will focus mainly on unicellular algae from the North Sea. This DNA chip will enable monitoring of biodiversity, especially for pico- and nanoplankton species which lack morphological features for identification. The detection of harmful algae blooms is also an important application.
The invertebrate chip will focus on important prey species of demersal fishes in the Mediterranean, as well as bioindicator organisms, such as polychaetes, that are difficult to identify by morphological characters.
A further result of the DNA chip development is an assessment of the genetic diversity of the studied species.
These data can
- reveal phylogenetic relationships,
- indicate taxonomic boundaries as well as cryptic species, and
- deliver insight into phylogeographic patterns.
Relevance for society
Sustainable development is a fundamental goal of the European Union, and loss of biodiversity was emphasised as one of the main threats to sustainable development during the Göteborg European Council. This underlines the importance of biodiversity and ecosystem science to facilitate the realisation of sustainable development. DNA chips are a powerful and innovative technology which facilitates surveying and monitoring of marine organisms, necessary to track changes in biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Especially for a biodiversity indicator system which aims to answer policy questions about the threat status and trends of Europe’s biodiversity, the identification of species is a fundamental task.
The Phytoplankton Chip
This overview shows the sample handling and the hybridisation of the Phytoplankton Chip, which was carried out by the AWI.
