Genetic research at the WSL Plant Protection Laboratory

Researchers enter the laboratories through an antechamber, where they put on protective clothing and disinfect laboratory equipment and sample containers once again.

The WSL's plant protection lab houses two high-tech rooms specially equipped for genetic analysis: the eDNA and aDNA labs

Protective clothing is mandatory in both high-tech laboratories. Particle filters and slight positive pressure prevent foreign DNA from outside, such as pollen, from contaminating the samples.
 

Was ist aDNA?

In the aDNA lab, WSL scientists identified the tree species of these 14,000-year-old subfossil pines that surfaced in 2013 during construction work in Zurich.

aDNA (ancient DNA) is highly degraded DNA found in small quantities in fossil, subfossil, or historical samples.

By analyzing aDNA, we gain insights into the past. For example, it allows us to reconstruct the migration routes of species after the Ice Age or to understand how species adapted to changing environmental conditions.