Application of molecular tools to update aquatic ecotoxicology monitoring

元生物编码，使用最新的深度测序技术，正在彻底改变我们评估生物群落的方式。这一跨学科的学生项目旨在开发这项技术的全新应用：在水生生态毒性研究中检测和量化无脊椎动物、浮游植物和浮游动物物种。这类研究对于测试和评估新农药或农药配方以提高作物产量至关重要。MetabarCoding将补充并有可能取代传统的显微技术。该项目将包括使用聚合酶链式反应、定量聚合酶链式反应、下一代测序和生物信息学开发。还将采用常规的生态毒性方法，包括对指示物种和单一养殖的生长进行分类鉴定和计数的显微镜检查。这些分类方法在生态毒理学领域是越来越罕见和非常可取的技术。这项研究将在诺丁汉大学萨顿·博宁顿校区的兽医与科学学院(SVMS)进行，该校区是公认的全球食品安全卓越中心。学生还将在该项目的行业赞助商剑桥环境评估(CEA)进行实习。这是一个多学科的咨询和研究组织，专门从事环境毒性领域的研究。

Metabarcoding, using the latest deep sequencing technology, is revolutionising how we assess biological communities. This inter-disciplinary studentship project aims to develop a completely novel application of this technology: to detect and quantify invertebrate, phytoplankton and zooplankton species in aquatic ecotoxicity studies. Such studies are crucial for the testing and safety assessment of new pesticides or pesticide formulas to improve crop production. Metabarcoding will compliment, and has the potential to replace, traditional microscopy techniques. The project will include the use of PCR, qPCR, next generation sequencing, and bioinformatics development. Conventional ecotoxicity methods will also be carried out and will include microscopy for taxonomic identification and enumeration of indicator species and the growth of monocultures. These taxonomy methods are increasingly rare and highly desirable skills in the ecotoxicology field. The study will be based in the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science (SVMS) at the University of Nottingham's Sutton Bonington Campus, a recognised centre for excellence in Global Food Security. The student will also undertake placements with the project's industrial sponsor Cambridge Environmental Assessment (CEA). This is a multi-disciplinary consultancy and research organisation specialising in the area of environmental toxicity.