Detectability of notifiable and unwanted organisms
Plants:
Alternanthera philoxeroides - Alligator weed
Yes - frequently detected on trnL assay in upper and central North Island.
Cabomba caroliniana
Probably – not yet detected as of June 2022 but species appears to be localised to one site. trnL assay has a single mismatch in forward primer, but this would likely not prevent binding.
Ceratophyllum demersum - Hornwort
Yes - frequently detected on both trnL and rbcL assays in upper and central North Island
Egeria densa
Yes - frequently detected on both trnL and rbcL assays in upper and central North Island and top of South Island
Eichhornia crassipes
Yes- Not yet detected as of June 2022, but trnL assay will bind with 100% affinity, amplicon is in length range, and resolution is to species level.
Equisetum hyemale
No – neither trnL nor rbcL primers will bind with sufficient affinity. Would need specific assay developed
Glyceria maxima
Yes – trnL assay binds with 100% affinity, amplicon is in length range, and resolution is to species level with the exception of sharing with Glyceria leptolepis (not in NZ). Detected in over 500 samples as of June 2022
Gunnera tinctoria – Chilean rhubarb
Yes – frequently detected on trnL assay, particularly in Taranaki, Wellington and Nelson regions
Gymnocoronis spilanthoides
Yes - trnL reference sequence generated by sequencing specimen supplied by GWRC. Detected in 20 samples from Wellington, Kapiti and Hawke's Bay as of June 2022.
Helosciadium nodiflorum – water celery
Not yet – no reference sequence available for trnL or rbcL assay
Hydrilla verticillata
Yes- trnl assay binds with full affinity and amplicon is in size range. Detected in one sample as of June 2022 (from Mahiaruhe Stream, Hawke’s Bay).
Hydrocleys nymphoides
Not yet – trnL reference sequence is not yet available. rbcL primers have low affinity for target sequence.
Iris pseudacorus
No – not distinguishable from other iris species using trnL or rbcL assays. A targeted assay would need to be developed for this species
Lagarosiphon major
Yes - frequently detected on rbcL assay
Lythrum salicaria
Likely – trnL primers bind with full affinity, amplicon size is in range and resolution is to species level. Not detected in any samples as of June 2022
Menyanthes trifoliata
Unlikely – indistinguishable from Nymphoides, Liparophyllum, Nabalus and Crispiloba on trnL assay. Sequence detected from only two samples from Hauraki Stream near entrance to Lake Rotorua. rbcL sequence not yet detected as of June 2022, but shared with several other species
Myriophyllum aquaticum
Unknown – trnL reference sequence is available but it is not known whether this same sequence is shared with native Myriophyllum species – a genus-wide barcoding effort would be needed to resolve this.
Nuphar lutea
Yes – detected on trnL assay from one sample from Mazengarb Stream, Kapiti. MPI notified May 2022
Nymphaea mexicana
Unsure – matching trnL sequence has been detected in several lake samples but is indistinguishable from several other Nymphaea and Nuphar species
Nymphoides geminata
Only as far as genus level
Nymphoides montana
No - matching trnL sequence has been detected in several lake samples but is indistinguishable from several other Menyanthaceae species
Nymphoides peltata
No – the matching trnL sequence has been detected in several lake samples to date, but is indistinguishable from several other species in the family Menyanthaceae
Oenanthe javanica
Unlikely – the matching trnL sequence has been detected in over 2000 samples to date but is indistinguishable from Trachyspermum ammi, Cryptotaenia japonica, Adenophora triphylla, Cicuta virosa, Tiedemannia filiformis, and Oenanthe linearis
Osmunda regalis
Yes – detected in 14 samples as of July 2022 (all from the Waikato region)
Pontederia crassipes
Likely - Not yet detected as of July 2022, but trnL primers will bind with 100% affinity, amplicon is in length range, and resolution is to species level.
Phragmites australis
Yes- but shares the same trnL sequence as Phragmites karka. Detected previously from Manawatu and Otago
Pistia stratiotes
Likely - Not yet detected as of June 2022, but trnL assay will bind with 100% affinity, amplicon is in length range, and resolution is to species level.
Potamogeton perfoliatus
No – indistinguishable from several other Potamogeton species on trnL and rbcL assays
Sagittaria montevidensis
Not yet – there is no trnL reference sequence currently available, and rbcL primers have low binding affinity. Other Sagittaria trnL sequences available in GenBank indicate that amplicon will likely be too long to sequence – so a specific Sagittaria assay will likely need to be developed.
Sagittaria platyphylla,
Not yet –no trnL reference sequence currently available. Other Sagittaria trnL sequences available in GenBank indicate that amplicon will likely be too long to sequence – so a specific Sagittaria assay will likely need to be developed.
Sagittaria sagittifolia
Not yet –no trnL reference sequence currently available. Other Sagittaria trnL sequences available in GenBank indicate that amplicon will likely be too long to sequence – so a specific Sagittaria assay will likely need to be developed.
Salvinia molesta
Specific assay required – there are primer mismatches in the standard trnL assay but we have developed a modified version of this assay that is specific for S molesta (needs to be ordered separately from comprehensive analysis).
Saururus cernuus
Yes – detected in 10 samples from BOP and Taranaki as of July 2022
Schoenoplectus californicus
Possibly – trnL reference sequence is available and in size range, and primer bind affinity is ok - but not yet detected as of June 2022
Typha latifolia
No – indistinguishable from Raupō (Typha orientalis) using trnL assay
Utricularia gibba
Yes – frequently detected with trnL assay
Vallisneria australis
Yes – eDNA used successfully used to identify a previously unknown invasion in the Wairarapa
Zizania latifolia
Yes but note the trnL sequence is indistinguishable from Z palustris/aquatica so currently identified to genus level. Detected in two samples as of July 2022 (from Wellington and Hawke’s Bay).
Didymosphenia geminata
Yes – regularly detected throughout the SI using the comprehensive analysis package (18SV9 assays).
Hydrodictyon reticulatum
Unsure – matching sequence regularly detected on 18SV9 assays but sequence is indistinguishable from Pediastrum duplex, Lacunastrum gracillimum and Pseudopediastrum boryanum
Lindavia intermedia
Yes – detected in several SI lakes using 18SV9 assays.
Invertebrates
Craspedacusta sowerbyi
Yes – we have detected this species in several hundred samples to date, from all over the country
Barbronia weberi
Yes – detected from samples in Auckland region (18S assays in comprehensive assay package)
Lymnaea stagnalis
No – out of scope of most assays except 18S, which cannot resolve to species level
Melanoides tuberculate
No – out of scope of most assays except 18S, for which there is not currently a reference sequence available
Physa acuta
Yes – detected in many samples to date using 18S (comprehensive) assay
Planorbarius corneus
No – out of scope of most assays except 18S, which cannot resolve to species level
Pomacea spp.
No – out of scope of most assays except 18S, for which there is currently no reference sequence available
Pseudosuccinea columella
No – out of scope of most assays except 18S, which cannot resolve to species level
Radix auricularia
No – out of scope of most assays except 18S, which cannot resolve to species level
Cherax tenuimanus
Likely – not detected to date July 2022 but we have detected Cherax destructor in several samples from Australia with both DG and ZC assays (basic package)
Aedes camptorhynchus
Likely – not detected to date July 2022 but we have detected A. albopictus and other native Aedes species with the ‘CI’ COI assay (basic analysis package)
Fish
Ameiurus nebulosus
Yes – large number of detections to date
Carassius auratus
Yes – large number of detections to date
Cyprinus carpio
Yes – large number of detections to date – but note that the NZ variety is now considered Cyprinus rubrofuscus (Nick Ling UOW pers. comm)
Gambusia affinis
Yes – large number of detections to date
Gobio gobio
Probably – has not been detected previously but distribution highly localised. In silico analysis suggests that 12S and 16S fish assays would detect this species with high affinity
Leuciscus idus
Probably – has not been detected previously but distribution highly localised. In silico analysis suggests that 12S and 16S fish assays would detect this species with high affinity
Perca fluviatilis
Yes- large number of detections to date
Scardinius erythrophthalmus
Yes- large number of detections to date
Tinca tinca
Yes- large number of detections to date
Reptiles
Trachemys scripta elegans
Yes – several detections to date.