Performance of extraction methods for extracellular DNA from sediments across marine habitats

Abstract

Using environmental DNA (eDNA) to detect taxa is quickly becoming an important technique to determine the distribution and diversity of macroorganisms. Assessing differences in communities based on eDNA extracted from sediment could enhance our understanding of marine communities among the many different marine habitats both from the present and from the past using sediment cores. Although the effect of extraction methods on metabarcoding results has been tested for both water and sediment samples, less is known about how sediment types may affect the extraction and sequencing of eDNA.