Revolutionizing organic pollution impact assessment on benthic invertebrate communities using DNA-based methods

保护海洋栖息地需要适当的手段来持续和准确地检测与多种排放有关的污染的影响，包括城市污水、雨水、工业废物和农业径流。确定污染影响的传统方法是通过沉积物和水质监测以及评估生活在海洋沉积物中的无脊椎动物物种的组成。20多年来，生物环境研究服务有限公司一直为政府和行业客户提供基于分类学的专家物种鉴定服务。然而，这项活动是具有挑战性和劳动密集型的；必须煞费苦心地从海洋沉积物样本中分离出生物并仔细编目，而这些生物往往不够完整，无法进行分类鉴定。成本和时间的投入严重限制了分类学调查的时空分辨率。《生物学报》已经确定了对基于DNA技术的更快、更有效的评估的补充能力的需求。利用赫尔宾实验室丰富的生物分子经验，生物学报打算与维多利亚大学建立新的合作关系，总体目标是开发一个基于dna的工具箱，以评估生活在海洋沉积物中的动物比例，作为污染指标。建立经过分类学验证的协议将使bi成为分类学服务行业的全球领导者，并通过提供使用DNA序列验证身份的工具和培训，确保bi核心服务的可持续性。拟议的项目为加拿大提供了一个机会：(1)通过有针对性地资本化分子生物学的进步来提供增强的分类服务；(2)改进和扩大各行业和市政当局的监测计划；(3)推动以分类学为基础的公司的创新，鼓励它们的可持续性和寿命；(4)提高我们对太平洋西北海岸未被充分研究的海洋栖息地生物多样性的理解。

The protection of marine habitats requires appropriate means to consistently and accurately detect impacts ofpollution associated with multiple discharges including municipal wastewater, stormwater, industrial waste andagricultural runoff. Traditional means for determining pollution impact has been through sediment and waterquality monitoring along with evaluating the composition of invertebrate species living in marine sediments.For over 20 years, Biologica Environmental Research Services Ltd. has provided expert species identificationservices based upon taxonomy for government and industry clients. However, this activity is challenging andlabour-intensive; organisms must be painstakingly isolated and carefully catalogued from marine sedimentsamples and are often not intact enough for a taxonomic identification. The cost and time commitment severelylimits the spatial and temporal resolution of taxonomic surveys. Biologica has identified the need for acomplementary capacity for faster, more efficient assessments based upon DNA technologies. Using theextensive biomolecular experience of the Helbing lab, Biologica intends to form a new collaborativerelationship with the University of Victoria with the overall objective of developing a DNA-based toolbox toassess the proportions of animals living in marine sediments as pollution indicators. The creation oftaxonomically-verified protocols would place Biologica as a global leader in the taxonomic services industryand ensure the sustainability of Biologica's core services by providing the tools and training to verifyidentifications using DNA sequences. The proposed project represents an opportunity for Canada to: (1)provide enhanced taxonomy services through targeted capitalization of advances in molecular biology, (2)improve and expand monitoring programs for various industries and municipalities; (3) drive innovation oftaxonomy-based companies encouraging their sustainability and longevity, and (4) improve upon ourunderstanding of the biodiversity of understudied marine habitats along the Pacific Northwestern coast.