02680nas a2200337   4500008004100000022001400041245015000055210006900205260001200274300000700286490000700293520167400300653001401974653001701988653000902005653001402014653002702028653001502055100002002070700001802090700001902108700002102127700002402148700001702172700002302189700001902212700001502231700001602246700001502262856006502277       2025                        eng d  a0722-406000aInference from eDNA-based field distributions vs laboratory analysis of isolated strains: Physiological performance of non-marine Antarctic biota0 aInference from eDNAbased field distributions vs laboratory analy  c03/2025  a360 v483 a<p>Environmental DNA (eDNA) is frequently used to infer distributions of microorganisms in Antarctica. Their distributions relative to environmental variables are, in turn, sometimes used to infer their physiological range (and a relationship between the two is generally assumed for conservation purposes). We sought to determine whether ecological inferences based on distributions accurately reflect tolerances of the organisms concerned, using 249 legacy non-marine samples from a latitudinal gradient between 72 and 86&deg;S, Antarctica. A cyanobacterium, a heterotrophic bacterium, two eukaryotic algae, two fungi, and a moss were isolated into culture, and their field distributions inferred using eDNA analysis of the samples above. Tolerances of each organism with respect to environmental predictors were then inferred from the eDNA distribution and metadata using Generalised Additive Models. We then measured growth of the cultured isolates in response to a set of these predictors. Laboratory responses were then compared to inferences from the eDNA/metadata. Predictions from eDNA/metadata agreed with the results of physiological laboratory experiments for strains that were detected at high taxonomic resolution in the field samples. However, errors were never completely eliminated, and direct contradictions occurred when strains were represented at lower taxonomic resolution in the field data. We found that accurate ecological inference from eDNA studies would be best achieved via maximising both taxonomic resolution (through marker choice/read length) and ecological signal (through careful sampling design and rigorous metadata collection).</p>10aAntarctic10adistribution10aeDNA10ainference10amicrobial biodiversity10aphysiology1 aNovis, Phil, M.1 aMonks, Adrian1 aHunt, John, E.1 aAdams, Byron, J.1 aDhami, Manpreet, K.1 aKim, Ji, Hee1 aMitchell, Caroline1 aMorgan, Fraser1 aHawes, Ian1 aAislabie, J1 aBroady, P.  uhttps://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00300-025-03356-y