eRNA Functional Activity Monitoring (3 samples)

Overview

eDNA tells you an organism's genetic material was somewhere in the system at some point. Environmental RNA tells you an organism is alive, metabolically active, and here today. RNA degrades within minutes of leaving a living cell, and that fragility is exactly what makes it informative: a positive eRNA signal cannot come from a long-dead cell or from water that drifted in last week.

It also means eRNA cannot be collected the way eDNA is. A bottle or a syringe filter will not work. Valid eRNA sampling requires high-volume pumped filtration to concentrate enough viable signal, and immediate on-site chemical preservation to lock the transcriptomic snapshot before it breaks down. That is what the Osprey platform, supplied by our genomics partner, is built to do. Each order covers three sampling locations.

Note on methodology: eRNA analysis is not an EPA-approved method. It is a research-grade ecological tool, and results are not suitable for regulatory or compliance use.

What problem does this solve for our lake?

This is the most expensive item in the Toolbox, so the case for it should be specific. eRNA is worth buying when a decision turns on three questions that eDNA cannot answer. • Is the detection alive and local? eDNA persists for days to weeks and travels considerable distances. A detection can reflect a dead organism, material carried in on a bird, or an upstream source. Before a lake spends money responding to an invasive detection, knowing whether there is a living, functioning population here is worth more than another eDNA run. • Is a harmful organism actually causing harm? Detecting a cyanobacteria genus is not the same as knowing whether it is expressing toxin-production genes. eRNA reads functional activity, not just presence. • Is the ecosystem responding? Gene expression shifts in near-real time. That makes eRNA the only genomic tool that can tell you whether a treatment worked, whether a restoration is taking, or whether the biological community is under stress right now rather than last season. The pattern that justifies the price is a decision with a larger number attached to it — an alum treatment, an invasive-species response, a restoration project someone will be asked to verify. Used as a general survey, this is the wrong product and eDNA is the right one.

What's included?

• The Osprey platform ships to your site as two coordinated cases:
• Osprey Control Case — stays on site for the duration of your program. Pump system, battery and charger, control electronics, tubing, sample mounts, flow meter, pre-filters, and labeled instructions.
• Osprey Sample Case — travels between your site and the lab. Sample cartridges, shipping mounts, and pre-measured preservation buffer.
• Return postage for the Sample Case
• Laboratory analysis by metabarcoding, next-generation sequencing, microarray, and/or qPCR, with full chain of custody
• Paired eDNA results from the same sample, on request
• Results loaded into your lake's account
• Field workflow: cases arrive, run the pump per the provided guidelines, roughly 15 minutes of sampling per run, set the genetic signal with the buffer, ship the Sample Case back. One-time test, return both cases; ongoing program, keep the Control Case and cycle only the Sample Case.
• Note on methodology: eRNA analysis does not run an EPA-approved method. It is a research-grade ecological tool, and results are not suitable for regulatory or compliance use.

What's not included

• Sample collection. You run the platform; we supply everything needed to do it correctly.
• Standard grab or syringe-filter collection. It will not produce a valid eRNA sample, and this is the most common reason an eRNA program fails.
• Boat or shoreline access to your three sampling locations, and a person available to run roughly 15 minutes of pumping per sample
• Quantified toxin concentrations. Detecting expression of toxin-production genes is not the same as measuring microcystin in the water.
• Chemistry of any kind
• Regulatory or compliance determinations
• An ongoing data subscription. This is a purchase, not a monitoring contract.
• Treatment, remediation, or applicator services

Requirements

• Immediate on-site preservation. RNA begins degrading within minutes, so the buffering step happens at the water, not back at the house.
• High-volume pumped filtration per the provided guidelines — roughly 15 minutes per sampling run
• The Sample Case shipped back the same day it is filled
• Somewhere secure and dry to keep the Control Case if you are running a multi-visit program
• Sampling timed to the question. eRNA is a snapshot of a moment, so the moment has to be the one you care about.
• A Plus, Lake Admin, or PRO subscription to have results loaded into your Lake Pulse account
• Questions about site selection, timing, or which test fits your lake? Contact the Lake Pulse Boathouse before you order.