Adelaide zoo, Zoo in Adelaide city centre, Australia

Canberra, Jan 23 The Australian government has announced a new environmental DNA (eDNA) research centre to boost biosecurity.The National eDNA Reference Centre will be set up at the University of Canberra in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, reports Xinhua news agency.Researchers at the centre will be tasked with developing cutting-edge technology to detect pests at the Australian border.The eDNA technology works by detecting skin, hair, urine, tissue and faecal matter shed by organisms in an environment such as a shipping container.It can also be used to detect ribonucleic acid (RNA) from a species.Dianne Gleeson, a wildlife geneticist from the University of Canberra's Centre for Conservation and Ecology Genetics, said eDNA testing has transformed pest surveillance."The work that we've been doing recently with the khapra beetle has been using dust samples from shipping containers where we suck up the dust, extract the DNA and we look for a sign of the species," she was quoted by Nine Entertainment newspapers on Sunday."Currently Australia is free of that species and it puts it in a very good market position internationally... Because otherwise, it's a massive pest and a massive problem for the grain industry so it could be really destructive if it arrives."The government has committed A$7 million in funding for the new centre.Andrew Metcalfe, head of the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, said eDNA detection was critical to safeguarding Australia's biodiversity."While the program will have the capacity for broad risk management application, our immediate focus is to address risks associated with khapra beetle and high-priority hitchhiker pests generally," he said.Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

Adelaide ZooFOLLOW

Adelaide zoo, Latest News

Chennai, Jan 25 The songs of director Sukumar's pan-Indian film, 'Pushpa: The Rise', featuring Allu Arjun and Rashmika ... ...

Sydney, Jan 25 Australia's New South Wales (NSW) will extend its Covid-19 restrictions for at least another month ... ...

Australia maintained the top spot in Group B with a 4-0 win over the Philippines in the ongoing AFC Women's Asian Cup India 2022 at Mumbai Football Arena on Monday. ...

Canberra, Jan 24 A new survey published on Monday has revealed that Australian voters have rated cost of ... ...

Sydney, Jan 24 More than the impact of being infected with Covid-19, children are facing many indirect effects ... ...

Sydney, Jan 24 Senior coalition MPs in Australia on Monday accused China of foreign interference after Prime Minister ... ...

Sydney, Jan 23 Australia's state of New South Wales (NSW) on Sunday announced a Covid-19 smart plan which ... ...

Canberra, Jan 23 The Australian government has announced a new environmental DNA (eDNA) research centre to boost biosecurity. ... ...