DNA forensics to support managing Colombia's biodiversity with MinION technology
THE QUESTION
Can the MinION DNA/RNA sequencer technology support conservation authorities in managing Colombia's biodiversity?
LOCATION: Colombia
SECTOR: Climate & Environment
TECH: Biotech
TIMELINE: September 2022 - March 2025, March 2026 - Present
PIONEERS: Chabelly Medina, Luis Calzadilla
PARTNER: The Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute
The Challenge
In the climate change context, biodiverse-rich countries, such as Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru play an increasingly important role in biodiversity loss prevention. The Latin American region holds ~40% of the world’s biodiversity, making it appealing for illegal wildlife trade (IWT), and Latin America is home to 25% of the 14,000 species at high risk of extinction.
Preventing biodiversity loss through fighting IWT activities can strengthen the response of biological communities to fight climate change. One of the roots of this problem is that there is scant scientific evidence on IWT for authorities to act upon. In many cases, confiscated specimens or products remain without a valid taxonomic identity that constrains law enforcement. In other cases, unreliable taxonomic identification prevents specimen relocation to the wild.
The Idea
This initiative aims to use the MinION technology to generate genetic information from IWT specimens and their derived products. This information could then be used by conservation authorities to prevent and tackle IWT, as well as inform the relocation of specimens. In conjunction with utilizing the MinION technology, the project proposes to run a hands-on training addressed to environmental authorities and researchers in Latin America to simulate a field portable laboratory, where DNA sequencing can be run from samples in the field. If successful, it will enable environmental authorities to target this angle of environmental criminal activities with greater accuracy and quicker timeframes.
What happened next
During the previous phase of the pilot on DNA sequencing for biodiversity management in Colombia, the Humboldt Institute and the FT Hub pursued two objectives. First, they assessed whether it was possible to determine the geographic origin of animal species through genetic testing, focusing in particular on Amazona ochrocephala using a MinION device. As part of this work, they also identified genetic barcodes for other species, including mammals, reptiles and birds. Second, they developed the foundations of a theoretical cost model for a genetic sequencing service to identify animal species in Colombia. The results showed that it is possible to determine the geographic origin of Amazona ochrocephala through genetic testing, and the team calculated indicative costs per genetic sample, showing that MinION can be cheaper and faster than other methods such as Sanger.
In the current follow-on-funding phase, the Humboldt Institute is piloting the foundations of this sequencing model by assessing demand for genetic sequencing services among Colombia’s regional environmental authorities. This includes identifying potential use cases and testing adoption through feedback loops and workshops with environmental agencies and the Ministry of Environment. Based on this demand, Humboldt will refine the cost model and test the case for adoption of this service.
Read more
Read about the pilot’s findings during the discovery phase in the discovery report here