Proper experimental design requires randomization/balancing of molecular ecology experiments
- Properly designed (randomized and/or balanced) experiments are standard in ecological research. Molecular methods are increasingly used in ecology, but studies generally do not report the detailed design of sample processing in the laboratory. This may strongly influence the interpretability of results if the laboratory procedures do not account for the confounding effects of unexpected laboratory events. We demonstrate this with a simple experiment where unexpected differences in laboratory processing of samples would have biased results if randomization in DNA extraction and PCR steps do not provide safeguards. We emphasize the need for proper experimental design and reporting of the laboratory phase of molecular ecology research to ensure the reliability and interpretability of results.
| Author details: | Miklos BalintORCiD, Orsolya Marton, Marlene Schatz, Rolf-Alexander Düring, Hans-Peter GrossartORCiDGND |
|---|---|
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3687 |
| ISSN: | 2045-7758 |
| Pubmed ID: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29435253 |
| Title of parent work (English): | Ecology and evolution |
| Publisher: | Wiley |
| Place of publishing: | Hoboken |
| Publication type: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Date of first publication: | 2018/01/10 |
| Publication year: | 2018 |
| Release date: | 2022/02/04 |
| Tag: | DNA extraction; PCR; batch effect; bias; environmental DNA; laboratory practice; lake community; metabarcoding; nondemonic intrusions; sediment |
| Volume: | 8 |
| Issue: | 3 |
| Number of pages: | 8 |
| First page: | 1786 |
| Last Page: | 1793 |
| Funding institution: | Deutsche ForschungsgemeinschaftGerman Research Foundation (DFG) [BA 4843/2-1] |
| Organizational units: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Biochemie und Biologie |
| Peer review: | Referiert |
| Publishing method: | Open Access / Gold Open-Access |
| DOAJ gelistet | |
| License (German): |  CC-BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International |
| External remark: | Zweitveröffentlichung in der Schriftenreihe Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe ; 616 |
