Possible To Extract DNA From Thin Air

Wildlife geneticist David Duffy from the University of Florida merely wants a more efficient means of monitoring disease in sea turtles. Then, he noticed that there was human DNA in seemingly random places. Is it possible to extract DNA from thin air?

Researchers in the field of animal biology have made great strides in the previous decade in perfecting methods for extracting eDNA from the environment. Ecologists may find eDNA in the air, water, snow, honey, and even your cup of tea, making it a potent and inexpensive instrument.

The Possibility To Extract DNA From Thin Air

Scientists have employed this technique for a wide range of purposes, including the early detection of invasive species, the monitoring of rare or elusive wildlife populations, and the re-discovery of species previously thought to be extinct. Wastewater surveillance systems use eDNA technology for tracking Covid and other diseases.

With all of this said, I know you may be stressed. But wait, there is more!

Researchers utilizing eDNA were secretly reclaiming massive amounts of human DNA. They see it as contaminating their data and a waste of time. But suppose someone intended to steal human eDNA.

Erin Murphy, a law professor at the New York University School of Law specializing in applying emerging technology in criminal law, has said that new DNA-gathering techniques are “like catnip” for law enforcement officers. The police are willing to adopt unproven methods, such as utilizing DNA to make suspect sketches based on chance.

This may present challenges for protecting personal privacy and civil liberties, especially as technology improves and smaller eDNA samples can be used to learn more. Dr. Duffy and his team tested how much they could learn about human DNA from samples from different environments, like outdoor streams and indoor air, using readily available and inexpensive technologies.

Their findings, published Monday in Nature Ecology & Evolution, show that researchers can piece together medical and family history data from tiny shards of human DNA in the environment.

Experts in forensic ethics and law say the Florida team’s findings highlight the need for stricter legislation protecting individuals’ genetic privacy. It is easier for law enforcement officials to implement a rudimentary new technology than it is for scientific researchers to acquire approval for studies to check that the system even works, highlighting an asymmetry in rules around such tactics in the United States.

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From Genetic Rags To Genetic Riches

Debris from our DNA is littering the world, which has been seen for decades. Nothing seemed to change, though. Scientists previously assumed that environmental DNA was too tiny and damaged to recover effectively, let alone be used to identify an individual human being, unless the sample was particular, such as a bloodstain or an object someone had touched.

Even though scientists only need relatively little pieces of DNA to identify the organisms in a sample to the species level, wildlife researchers have embraced environmental DNA. After discovering “surprising” levels of human eDNA in their samples while monitoring disease in Florida sea turtles, Dr. Duffy and his team decided to investigate the state of human DNA in the environment and the insights it could provide.

The scientists collected a sample of water the size of a soda can from a creek in St. Augustine, Florida, to use as a proof of concept in one of their tests. Next, they ran the sample’s DNA through a nanopore sequencer, which can read far larger swaths of DNA. The one they used was around $1,000; it looks like a cigarette lighter, functions like a flash drive, and connects to a laptop.

They were able to extract significantly more human DNA from the samples than they had anticipated. Even small samples can yield a plethora of information through analysis, especially as our understanding of human genetics grows.

Although the researchers note that racial identity is a poor proxy for genetic ancestry, they recovered enough mitochondrial DNA (passed directly from mother to child for thousands of generations) to generate a snapshot of the genetic ancestry of the population around the creek. Even more impressive, one mitochondrial sample fully satisfies the criteria for inclusion in the federal missing persons database.

They also identified significant mutations associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes, cardiovascular illness, and various eye disorders. They found evidence that a mutation in the sampled DNA could lead to a rare disease that causes gradual neurological disability and death.

The onset of the genetic ailment may only occur once the patient is in their 40s. Do they know? Dr. Duffy found himself wondering. Do they have any close relatives? Does the individual’s insurance provider say so?

According to Harvard scholar Anna Lewis, who studies the ethical, legal, and social aspects of genetics research, bioethics experts have not had much time to discuss environmental DNA. But it certainly will be after what Dr. Duffy and his team have discovered.

She warned that people of a specific ancestry or with a particular illness or disability could be targeted for monitoring using eDNA-based technologies.

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In Summary

Researchers believe that the ramifications of such usage vary depending on who is utilizing the technology and for what purpose. Pooled eDNA samples have the potential to aid public health researchers in determining the prevalence of a disease-causing mutation in a community. Still, they also have the potential to be used to identify and persecute members of marginalized groups. What I outlined here is the possibility to extract DNA from thin air.