ArticleEcological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America2015
Development and application of an eDNA method to detect and quantify a pathogenic parasite in aquatic ecosystems.
Article in Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
37 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 144 citations in OpenAlex.
- Detecting and identifying Schistosoma infections in snails and aquatic habitats: A systematic review.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2021Pooled it
- Review
- Development and preliminary evaluation of two novel PCR assays for improved detection ofFood and waterborne parasitology · 2026Article
- Development of a High-Sensitive qPCR-Based Molecular Diagnosis Method for Detection ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Uncovering Putative Bacterial Pathogens in Lakes in Aotearoa New Zealand Using Environmental DNA.Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- Integrating eDNA, molecular cercariometry, and snail surveys enhances characterization of digenetic trematode diversity.Parasitology research · 2026Article
- Ecological Health and Freshwater Pathogen Using eDNA Metabarcoding: A Preliminary Assessment for Environmental Surveillance Development in Malaysia.Microorganisms · 2025Article
- Elucidation of the life cycle of the trematodeParasitology · 2025Article
- Advancing schistosomiasis surveillance: standardization and application of an environmental DNA (eDNA)-based approach for detecting Schistosoma mansoni in Brazil.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Comparison of qPCR and metabarcoding for environmental DNA surveillance of a freshwater parasite.Ecology and evolution · 2024Article
- Article
- Natural history of the parasiteParasitology · 2023Article
- Moving towards improved surveillance and earlier diagnosis of aquatic pathogens: From traditional methods to emerging technologies.Reviews in aquaculture · 2022Review
- Article
- Scratching the Itch: Updated Perspectives on the Schistosomes Responsible for Swimmer's Itch around the World.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Simplifying Schistosome Surveillance: Using Molecular Cercariometry to Detect and Quantify Cercariae in Water.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Lurking in the water: testing eDNA metabarcoding as a tool for ecosystem-wide parasite detection.Parasitology · 2022Article
- The Remote Emerging Disease Intelligence-NETwork.Frontiers in microbiology · 2022Article
- Acute mortality in California tiger salamander (International journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife · 2021Article
- Removal of eDNA from fabrics using a novel laundry DNase revealed using high-resolution imaging.Scientific reports · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Approaches based on organismal DNA found in the environment (eDNA) have become increasingly utilized for ecological studies and biodiversity inventories as an alternative to traditional field survey methods. Such DNA-based techniques have largely been used to establish the presence of free-living organisms, but have much potential for detecting and quantifying infectious agents in the environment, which is necessary to evaluate disease risk. We developed an eDNA method to examine the distribution and abundance of the trematode Ribeiroia ondatrae, a pathogenic parasite known to cause malformations in North American amphibians. In addition to comparing this eDNA approach to classical host necropsy, we examined the detectability of R. ondatrae in water samples subject to different degradation conditions (time and temperature). Our test exhibited high specificity and sensitivity to R. ondatrae, capable of detecting as little as 14 fg (femtograms) of this parasite's DNA (1/2500th of a single infectious stage) from field water samples. Compared to our results from amphibian host necropsy, quantitative PCR was -90% concordant with respect to R. ondatrae detection from 15 field sites and was also a significant predictor of host infection abundance. DNA was still detectable in lab samples after 21 days at 25°C, indicating that our method is robust to field conditions. By comparing the advantages and disadvantages of eDNA vs. traditional survey methods for determining pathogen presence and abundance in the field, we found that the lower cost and effort associated with eDNA approaches provide many advantages. The development of alternative tools is critical for disease ecology, as wildlife management and conservation efforts require reliable establishment and monitoring of pathogens.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.