Gadid metabarcoding of mock communities and aquarium metagenomes

In this study, we designed novel gadid-specific metabarcoding sequencing primers that enabled quantitative, species-level estimates of gadid composition from eDNA samples. We used mock communities consisting of variable proportions of DNA from all North Pacific and Arctic gadid species to evaluate primer performance and to quantify species-specific amplification efficiencies. We then collected eDNA samples from experimental tanks containing multiple species and consisting of variable biomass of Walleye pollock, Pacific cod, and Arctic cod to test the ability of the novel primers to reflect the composition of live fish biomass in a controlled setting.