近日，浙江师范大学李凯小组报道了湖泊沉积物植物DNA代谢示踪在青藏高原植被组成监测中的应用。相关论文于2024年8月12日发表于国际顶尖学术期刊《中国科学：地球科学》杂志上。

本研究利用叶绿体trnL (UAA)内含子P6环区的g和h通用引物，对青藏高原西南部59个池塘和小湖泊的表层沉积物进行了植物DNA扩增。通过比较sedDNA、花粉和植被调查数据，评估了使用植物DNA元编码在现代植被监测和古植被重建中的适用性和局限性。结果表明，植物DNA元编码记录了186个陆生分类群，其中能在种水平上识别的占30.1%。

植物sedDNA方法可以有效地揭示调查点附近的优势植物类群(包括Asteraceae、Cyperaceae和Poaceae)和重要的植被组合。植物sedDNA的分类群数量和分类分辨率均超过花粉分析(检测到75个分类群，在种水平上可识别5.3%)。不像花粉那样保留广泛的区域植物信号(包括Pinus和Artemisia)，植物sedDNA反映了非常本地的植物，强调了它在当地植被监测和重建中的作用。综上所述，对(小)湖沉积物的植物DNA元编码的研究在未来的TP区域植被监测和重建中值得被重视。

据悉，得益于环境DNA (eDNA)技术的快速发展，沉积DNA (sedDNA)成为监测偏远地区植物组成的一种有前景的工具。青藏高原以其恶劣的环境和众多的池塘和湖泊而闻名，是一个潜在的需要应用sedDNA进行植被调查的地区。

附：英文原文

Title: Application of plant DNA metabarcoding of lake sediments for monitoring vegetation compositions on the Tibetan Plateau

Author: Kai WU, Kai LI, Weihan JIA, Kathleen R. STOOF-LEICHSENRING, Ulrike HERZSCHUH, Jian NI, Mengna LIAO, Fang TIAN

Issue&Volume: 2024/08/12

Abstract: Benefiting from the rapid development of environmental DNA (eDNA) technologies, sedimentary DNA (sedDNA) emerges as a promising tool for monitoring plant compositions in remote regions. The Tibetan Plateau (TP), renowned for its harsh environment and numerous ponds and lakes, presents a potentially demanding region for the application of sedDNA on vegetation investigations. Here, we used the g and h universal primers for the P6 loop region of the chloroplast trnL (UAA) intron to amplify plant DNA in surface sediments from 59 ponds and small lakes on the southwestern TP. The applicability and limitations of using plant DNA metabarcoding for modern vegetation monitoring and palaeo-vegetation reconstructions have been assessed by comparing sedDNA, pollen, and vegetation survey data. Our results showed that plant DNA metabarcoding recorded 186 terrestrial taxa, of which 30.1% can be identified at the species level. The plant sedDNA approach can effectively disclose the dominant plant taxa (including Asteraceae, Cyperaceae and Poaceae) and significant vegetation assemblages in the vicinity of the investigated sites. The number of taxa and taxonomic resolution of plant sedDNA exceeded that of pollen analysis (75 taxa detected, 5.3% can be identified at species level). Unlike pollen that retains a broad spectrum of regional plant signals (including Pinus and Artemisia), plant sedDNA mirrors very local plants, underscoring its utility in local vegetation monitoring and reconstructions. To conclude, plant DNA metabarcoding of (small) lake sediments warrant increased attention in the future for local vegetation monitoring and reconstructions on the TP.

DOI: 10.1007/s11430-023-1358-0

Source: https://www.sciengine.com/10.1007/s11430-023-1358-0