Environmental DNA metabarcoding of an urban Brownfield site. Brownfield

Brownfield areas are properties with the presence of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants. Based on environmental regulations, these abandoned sites are considered non-usable due to the presence of a high level of organic and inorganic toxic chemicals. Revitalization of Brownfield sites has ecological, economical and public health implications for the local communities. Brownfield sites, like hazardous industrial facilities, tend to be found in economically deprived and primarily minority communities and are an environmental justice issue. Existing assessment methods of Brownfield sites do not focus on the microbial community, which can provide key indicator species associated with contaminants and potentially for bioremediation practices. Environmental DNA metabarcoding is a novel technique, where a sample of air, soil, or water and be processed to amplify traces of DNA from feces, hair, skin, etc. to detect organisms from microbes to mammals of an area. This study uses eDNA metabarcoding on soil samples from an urban Brownfield site to provide a baseline of the microbial community profiles by depth, hazardous chemical, and identify taxonomic groups metabolizing pollutants. This study will provide a better understanding on how the presence of contaminants drive changes in microbial communities and has the potential to identify microbial taxonomic groups for bioremediation.