In Situ DNA Assay at 1000m

Why bother collecting samples at depth, bring them to the surface, preserve them, bring them into the lab, and then sequence them when you can just do it on the ocean bottom?

MBARI researchers perform first DNA analysis in the deep sea

In a culmination of seven years of work, MBARI researchers this week performed the first automated analysis of DNA in the deep sea. Using the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Ventana, they carried an automated DNA laboratory called the Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) down to a depth of 1,000 meters in Monterey Bay. The ESP has been used previously to detect bacteria, algae, and other microorganisms in near-surface waters. In order to adapt this instrument for use in the deep sea, the researchers had to develop a "deep-water sampling module," which allows the ESP to collect samples of sea water at depths where the water pressure can be several hundreds of times that at the surface. Eventually this device may be used at deep-sea hydrothermal vents or hooked up to the MARS ocean observatory in Monterey Bay.