Metabarcoding meiofauna biodiversity assesment Colombia

In this study we used eDNA metabarcoding to estimate meiofaunal biodiversity present in sandy beaches of Northern Colombia. We performed DNA extraction from samples treated using two common pretreatment protocols for meiofaunal separation (MgCl2 and Ludox) and from sediment without any pretreatment (i.e. direct extraction), and amplified DNA using the 18S and CO1 markers. We then evaluated the impact of both of these parameters on the inventory of metazoan meiofauna taxa recovered at each beach. We also compared our results with previous meiofauna species reports in the geographic region, with the aim of assessing how eDNA may complement traditional morphological surveys.