'Aerial metagenomics' best refers to which one of the following situations?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) Collecting DNA samples from air in a habitat at one go
Aerial metagenomics means collecting DNA from the air in a habitat and sequencing it all together to see which organisms are present. Metagenomics studies the combined genetic material of many organisms in one bulk sample, and here the sample is air.
- ✓ (a) Air carries tiny particles (bioaerosols) shed by microbes, plants and animals. Sampling that air and sequencing the DNA in it at one go reveals the species around, without catching or disturbing any animal.
- ✗ (b) This describes genetic study of birds only. Metagenomics covers a whole mixed community of organisms in one sample, not one group such as avian species.
- ✗ (d) Drones collecting physical plant and animal samples from land and water are a sampling method, not a study of DNA collected from air.
Remember · Metagenomics reads the DNA of a whole community from one bulk sample. In aerial metagenomics that sample is air, giving a snapshot of the species around.
Sources
- Metagenomics, Talking Glossary of Genomic and Genetic Terms (National Human Genome Research Institute, US NIH) ↗ “Metagenomics is the study of the structure and function of entire nucleotide sequences isolated and analyzed from all the organisms (typically microbes) in a bulk sample.”
- AirDNA sampler: airborne environmental DNA for metagenomic applications (PLoS One, 2023, via PubMed Central) ↗ “metagenomic approach has allowed detection of DNA of plants, invertebrate animals, and vertebrate animals from bioaerosols as a comprehensive mean of diversity analysis in a particular environment”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·