Collection Overview

Scientific Reports has launched a Guest-Edited Collection on Environmental DNA as biosignatures.

Environmental DNA (eDNA), the genetic material shed by organisms into their surroundings, has emerged as a transformative tool for biodiversity monitoring, offering cost-effective and non-invasive methods to detect species and assess ecosystem health. This approach enables rapid insights into species presence, community composition, and ecological dynamics across aquatic, terrestrial, and aerial environments.

This will be a Collection of original research papers and will be open for submissions from all authors – on the condition that the manuscripts fall within the scope of the Collection and of Scientific Reports more generally. We are welcoming submissions until 18th August 2026.

Why are you excited about this Collection? 

“I am excited about this Collection because eDNA offers robust biosignatures that help characterize biodiversity patterns, track ecological dynamics, and improve our understanding of how environmental processes shape genetic signals.” - Dr. Maha Mezghani Khemakhem

This Collection also supports and amplifies research related to SDG 15: Life on Land.

Why submit to a Collection? 

Collections like this one help promote high-quality science. They are led by Guest Editors, who are experts in their fields, and In-House Editors and are supported by a dedicated team of Commissioning Editors and Managing Editors at Springer Nature. Collection manuscripts typically see higher citations, downloads, and Altmetric scores and provide a one-stop-shop on a cutting-edge topic of interest. 

Who is involved? 

Guest Editors:

• Luca Fontanesi, University of Bologna, Italy
• Anubhab Khan, Indian Institute of Science, India
• Maha Mezghani Khemakhem, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunisia

Internal Team:

• In-House Editor: Alakananda Karthick, Scientific Reports, India
• Commissioning Editor: Nancy Rogerson, Fully OA Brands, Springer Nature, UK
• Managing Editor: Sarah Jane Hunt, Fully OA Brands, Springer Nature, UK

How can I submit my paper? 

Visit the Collection Page to find out more about this Collection and how to submit your article.