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

保护海洋生物栖息地需要适当的手段，以持续和准确地检测与包括城市废水、雨水、工业废物和农业径流在内的多种排放有关的污染的影响。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，Biologica环境研究服务有限公司为政府和行业客户提供基于分类的专家物种鉴定服务。然而，这项活动具有挑战性和劳动密集性；必须从海洋沉积物样本中精心分离和仔细编目生物体，而且往往不够完整，无法进行分类鉴定。成本和时间承诺严重限制了分类调查的空间和时间分辨率。Biologica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，Biologica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。分类学验证协议的创建将使Biologica成为分类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Biologica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)通过有针对性地将分子生物学方面的进展资本化，提供增强的分类学服务；(2)改进和扩大对各个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长寿；以及(4)改善我们对太平洋西北海岸未被研究的海洋生物栖息地生物多样性的了解。

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.