Sometimes, when the wind blows in the wrong direction, the world can become surprisingly small. In March 2022, for instance, areas of western Europe found themselves coated in an African dust that gave a pink hue to the snow on ski slopes in southern France and turned Iberian skies an eerie shade of orange.
The dust, blown in from the Sahara by Storm Celia, covered cars and buildings in much of Spain and Portugal. For many residents it was merely an inconvenience: everything was dirty and the air was difficult to breathe. For farmers, though, it was a potential disaster.
Airborne dust is a mixture of minerals and microorganisms such as fungi, bacteria and even small insects. In the late 19th century, an insect called Phylloxera was accidentally introduced to Portugal and devastated the country’s vineyards. “This is something that is still fixed in our farmers’ minds,” says Ricardo Dias, a genetics researcher based at the University of Lisbon. So what, farmers would like to know, blew in during 2022?
Scientists are now able to answer that question with astonishing precision. Thanks to gene analysis technology, they are able to provide agriculture and other industries with deep insights into the threats – and opportunities – that are carried on the world’s winds. It turns out that, with the right genomic data in hand, scientists, governments and farmers can be ready for whatever the future might bring.
The characteristics of all animal and plant life depend in part on the long-chain molecules of DNA found inside its cells. Reading the details of that DNA – a technology known as genetic sequencing – is an essential step in understanding the relationships between all of the various components of the natural world.
Sequencing technology is becoming cheaper, faster and more accessible than ever. This is having an increasing impact on the way scientists are able to characterise the complex processes at work in both the natural and the human environment.
Saharan sequencing
Ricardo Dias at the Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes at the University of Lisbon, for instance, is part of a team that has used gene sequencing from MGI Tech, a Chinese biotechnology company, to analyse the Saharan dust that blew into Portugal in 2022. “We collected the samples from air near the ground and processed them to identify bacteria, fungi, viruses, and plant DNA that were present in the aerosolised dust,” Dias says.
The team’s findings are significant. “This study reveals that Saharan dust storms are not just mineral events—they are biological corridors,” Dias says. The dust was mostly Actinobacteria, typical of arid soils and desert environments. There were also plant viruses, insect viruses and giant viruses, pollen from African crops and even arthropods. In other words, it wasn’t just sand. “The dust carried biological material from both Saharan soils and North African agricultural or oasis environments,” Dias says.
The sequencing results are still being assessed, but there are already clear warnings for farmers. Some of the organisms play positive roles in nutrient cycling within soils, but some are potentially dangerous. “We detected several plant pathogens,” Dias says. “This has implications for crop health, soil microbiome dynamics, and food safety across continents.”
Farming fish
The versatility of MGI’s gene-sequencing technology has proved useful elsewhere too. In Brazil, researchers are using MGI sequencers to help conserve the pirarucu, the Amazon’s largest freshwater fish.
Overfishing has led to the pirarucu becoming highly endangered. One possible solution to this is to develop pirarucu farms that will mean fewer wild fish are caught, giving the species a chance to recover. But how do you ensure that the fish being consumed are from the farms and not the wild population?
The short answer is, through genetic technology. Sidney Santos, from the Federal University of Pará (UFPA) Institute of Biological Sciences, has led an effort to sequence the whole pirarucu genome. From this, the team has developed gene-based “paternity tests” that verify the origin of the products on sale. MGI sequencers are then used to analyse the genetics of a fish sample to determine whether the fish is from a farm, or from wild stocks. This is only the beginning of gene-based conservation efforts, Santos believes.
“All data produced by the equipment will be shared with researchers from partner universities across the Brazilian Amazon, fostering scientific advancement and the development of new applications,” he says. “MGI is an important partner in the research groups involved.”
This is far from being the only application of gene-sequencing technology to enhancing fish stocks. “The most important aspect is that, since DNA is universal, we can apply the same model to all Amazonian species,” adds Santos. “With this knowledge, we can apply customized solutions for the reproduction, growth, and preservation of any animal.”
There can be no doubt that the natural environment is under increasing pressure, whether because of global warming’s effect on weather patterns, irresponsible exploitation of the oceans or depleted soil that can’t grow all the food needed for a growing human population. But with the development of technologies such as fast, efficient and affordable gene sequencing, researchers can begin to gather the information they need to find solutions to some of these most pressing problems.
