Journeys through time for chemical safety and environmental protection with the German Environmental Specimen Bank
Abstract: The German Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB) has been systematically archiving high-quality samples of coastal, inland water and terrestrial ecosystems for environmental and chemical management since the 1990s. The samples originate from fish, coastal birds, mussels, deer, earthworms, trees, suspended matter and soils. Sampling, processing and archiving are carried out according to standardised procedures based on strict protocols at specified locations and at regular intervals. Samples are stored on liquid nitrogen at ultra-low temperatures (<-140 °C) to preserve their chemical and biological integrity for generations.
The historical samples can be analysed at any time using innovative analytical methods that were often not even available when the samples were collected. With each sample, we can improve our understanding of trends in environmental quality.
The progress of chemical analysis is reflected in the analyses of the ESB samples. In the 1990s, chemists mainly analysed elements and chlorinated compounds for the ESB, whereas brominated and fluorinated compounds were added in the 2000s. In the 2010s, experts then expanded the methods for detecting more polar substances, such as pharmaceuticals, biocides and plant protection products. In recent years, the ESB has focussed on the development of HRMS non-target screening methods, which provide a better insight into chemical mixtures in environmental samples. A future topic is the use of ESB samples for effect-based analyses with bioassays.
There has also been great progress in DNA based methods in terms of standardisation, automation and pricing. The ESB samples are suitable as DNA collectors for analysing the species communities associated with the samples as well as free DNA using metabarcoding and metagenomics methods. In addition, experts can use the DNA of the sampled species for population genomic analyses.
The innovative power of the environmental analysis community is a great support for environmental policy and research. The new chemical and molecular monitoring methods help the ESB to better assess the current state of ecosystems, understand historical environmental change and make predictions for future development. The samples are available to research institutes to investigate regulatory and scientific issues.
Literature:
[1] Environmental specimen banks and the European Green Deal. Fliedner A. et al. 2022, Sci Total Environ. 15; 852:158430.
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