Launch of an Austrian eDNA Community
The Metabarcoding Symposium, held on 17 and 18 September 2026 at the Natural History Museum Vienna, was not only a platform for professional exchange, but also marked the beginning of an Austrian eDNA community (provisionally: OeDNA). The symposium was organised by the ABOL coordination team together with Bettina Thalinger (WasserCluster Lunz) and Christoph Hahn (University of Graz).
In recent years, eDNA and metabarcoding have developed rapidly and are increasingly moving towards large-scale and practical applications. At the same time, the community in Austria remains relatively fragmented. With OeDNA, we therefore aim to bring researchers, practitioners, public authorities, and companies closer together, foster exchange, and advance topics of shared interest.
If you are interested in joining, you can sign up via the following link and stay informed:
https://forms.gle/zZMczhC1zuUqERRQA
Strong Interest in the Metabarcoding Symposium
Interest in the Metabarcoding Symposium was overwhelming: the event reached full capacity within a very short time.
On the first day, participants were presented with a diverse programme covering different aspects of eDNA and metabarcoding. Talks ranged from current scientific developments and the importance of reference data to examples from applied projects and questions surrounding standardisation.
Companies, as important partners throughout the entire process, were also given the opportunity to present their work and expertise. We hope this programme reflected the diverse interests and backgrounds of the participants.
Special thanks go to our two keynote speakers, Bernd Hänfling (UHI Inverness) and Henrik Krehenwinkel (University of Trier), for their inspiring and impressive presentations. They showcased the wide range of possibilities offered by eDNA and metabarcoding in both aquatic and terrestrial environments.
Another highlight of the first day was the extensive panel discussion. Representatives from science, public authorities, and applied practice discussed experiences, opportunities, and challenges associated with the use of eDNA and metabarcoding. The discussion raised numerous questions that will be further explored and addressed collectively within the emerging OeDNA community.
Standardisation is one of this key topics. In some areas, standards have already been established, for example within the framework of LTER. These are based on scientific studies and projects such as GeMonA+ and can serve as an example for implementing eDNA and metabarcoding methods in other fields of application. Companies such as Spcfy are also already offering solutions for standardised analysis pipelines.
On the second day of the event, participants had the opportunity to explore one approach to a bioinformatics pipeline for analysing metabarcoding data in a hands-on workshop. Fifty participants took part and worked through the individual steps of this complex process. In addition to the technical analysis, considerable attention was also given to the interpretation of the resulting data.
We are delighted with the success of the event and would like to thank everyone who attended and contributed. We look forward to seeing strong interest in OeDNA and to continuing the exchange within this emerging community.
Photos: M. Sonnleitner, B. Thalinger
