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EntoSieve: Automated Size-Sorting of Insect Bulk Samples to Aid Accurate Megabarcoding and Metabarcoding
Aleida Ascenzi1,2, Lorenz Wührl3, Vivian Feng4,5
1Department of Biology and Biotechnologies "Charles Darwin", Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Molecular Ecology Resources
|March 11, 2025
Summary
Insect monitoring requires efficient, cost-effective methods. The new EntoSieve device rapidly sorts insect samples by size, improving DNA-based biodiversity assessments and reducing contamination for megabarcoding and metabarcoding studies.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Molecular Biology
- Bioinformatics
Background:
- Widespread insect decline necessitates standardized, cost-effective monitoring protocols.
- Current molecular methods like metabarcoding face challenges with sample heterogeneity, particularly body size, impacting DNA-based diversity assessments.
- Existing automated, rapid, non-destructive size-sorting solutions are lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce the EntoSieve, a low-cost, DIY motorized instrument for disentangling and size-sorting insect bulk samples.
- To evaluate the efficiency and impact on specimen integrity of the EntoSieve.
- To demonstrate the device's utility in preparing samples for DNA-based biodiversity analyses.
Main Methods:
- Development of a low-cost, DIY motorized instrument (EntoSieve) using readily available components and 3D-printed parts.
- Testing the EntoSieve on three insect bulk samples (>10,000 specimens) using three sieving protocols.
- Assessment of sorting efficiency, processing time, and specimen damage.
Main Results:
- EntoSieve achieved high sorting efficiencies (92%-99%) within 18-60 minutes.
- Specimen damage was found to be not significant for subsamples.
- The device effectively disentangles and sorts insects into size fractions, minimizing cross-contamination.
Conclusions:
- The EntoSieve offers a rapid, cost-effective, and low-damage solution for insect sample pre-processing.
- This device facilitates the production of morphologically valuable vouchers for megabarcoding.
- EntoSieve is expected to improve the accuracy of compositional diversity assessments in metabarcoding across different insect size classes.
