Understanding the processes of environmental DNA (eDNA) persistence and degradation is essential to determine the spatiotemporal scale of eDNA signals and accurately estimate species distribution. The effects of environmental factors on eDNA persistence have previously been examined; however, the influence of the physiochemical and molecular states of eDNA on its persistence is not completely understood. Here, we performed meta-analyses including 26 previously published papers on the estimation of first-order eDNA decay rate constants, and assessed the effects of filter pore size, DNA fragment size, target gene, and environmental conditions on eDNA decay rates. Almost all supported models included the interactions between the filter pore size and water temperature, between the target gene and water temperature, and between the target gene and water source, implying the influence of complex interactions between the eDNA state and environmental conditions on eDNA persistence. These findings were generally consistent with the results of a reanalysis of a previous tank experiment which measured the time-series changes in marine fish eDNA concentrations in multiple size fractions after fish removal. Our results suggest that the mechanism of eDNA persistence and degradation cannot be fully understood without knowing not only environmental factors but also cellular and molecular states of eDNA in water. Further verification of the relationship between eDNA state and persistence is required by obtaining more information on eDNA persistence in various experimental and environmental conditions, which will enhance our knowledge on eDNA persistence and support our findings.

中文翻译：

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荟萃分析表明环境 DNA (eDNA) 状态和水化学物质之间复杂的相互作用对 eDNA 持久性的影响

了解环境 DNA (eDNA) 的持久性和降解过程对于确定 eDNA 信号的时空尺度和准确估计物种分布至关重要。环境因素对 eDNA 持久性的影响先前已被研究过；然而，eDNA 的物理化学和分子状态对其持久性的影响尚不完全清楚。在这里，我们进行了荟萃分析，包括之前发表的 26 篇关于一阶 eDNA 衰减率常数估计的论文，并评估了过滤器孔径、DNA 片段大小、目标基因和环境条件对 eDNA 衰减率的影响。几乎所有支持的模型都包括过滤器孔径和水温之间的相互作用，目标基因和水温之间的相互作用，以及目标基因和水源之间的关系，这意味着 eDNA 状态和环境条件之间复杂的相互作用对 eDNA 持久性的影响。这些发现与之前的水箱实验的再分析结果基本一致，该实验测量了去除鱼后多个尺寸部分的海水鱼 eDNA 浓度的时间序列变化。我们的研究结果表明，如果不了解环境因素以及水中 eDNA 的细胞和分子状态，就无法完全了解 eDNA 持久性和降解的机制。通过在各种实验和环境条件下获得更多关于 eDNA 持久性的信息，需要进一步验证 eDNA 状态和持久性之间的关系，