First eDNA Datasets From Okeanos Explorer Expeditions Released

[SCB Marine]

From Data to Discovery: First eDNA Datasets From Okeanos Explorer Expeditions Released

In April, NOAA Ocean Exploration, in partnership with NOAA’s National Systematics Laboratory at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the Northern Gulf Institute, and NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, released its first deep-sea environmental DNA (eDNA) datasets. These biological data were collected during expeditions on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans between 2021 and 2023 and provide a wealth of information about deep-sea organisms.

Data and metadata are now freely available to the public through two repositories:

• Raw sequences are available from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) (BioProject: 1284389).

• Organism identifications are available from the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS) in mid-March.

By sharing these economically and scientifically critical data through globally accessible repositories, the partners hope to enable further deep-ocean discoveries and understanding to address current and emerging science and management needs.

NOAA Omics and the NOAA Library are hosting a webinar about the release of these data on May 28 at noon EDT. Registration is required. A recording will be available after the event on the NOAA Library’s YouTube Channel.