Standard Presentation Australian Marine Sciences Association 2026 Conference

The Enduring Value of Microbiome Timeseries and DNA Archives. (139779)

Jodie van de Kamp 1 , Bronwyn Holmes 1 , Matthew C Smith 2 , Dean Rollins 2 , Claire Davies 1 , Nahshon Siboni 3 , Torsten Thomas 4 , Craig Sherman 5 , Renee Gruber 6 , David Bourne 6 , Yun Kit Yeoh 6 , Dion M.F. Frampton 1 , Timothy Hogarty 1 , Mark Doubell 7 , Shauna Murray 8 , Andrew Bissett 1 , Justin Seymour 3
  1. CSIRO Environment, Battery Point, Tasmania, Australia
  2. CSIRO National Collections & Marine Infrastructure, Battery Point, Tasmania, Australia
  3. Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  4. Centre for Marine Science and Innovation & School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  5. Deakin Marine Research and Innovation Centre, Deakin University, Queenscliff, Victoria, Australia
  6. Australian Institute for Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
  7. South Australian Research and Development Institute, West Beach, South Australia, Australia
  8. School of Life Sciences, University of Technology, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

For more than a decade, the IMOS Marine Microbiome Initiative  has been uncovering the hidden diversity of microbes living in Australia’s coastal oceans as part of the Australian Microbiome . In early 2026, Australian Microbiome published 93 million occurrence records on the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, including >50 million records from >10,000 samples from Australian coastal waters, the Indian, Pacific and Southern Oceans and represents the most comprehensive, single dataset in the Oceania region. The IMOS National Reference Stations and coastal timeseries are the corner stone of this marine dataset and, while still a relatively young timeseries, the spatial and temporal scale of this dataset has unlocked opportunities to understand critical ecosystem dynamics in the base of the food chain and assess system state and trends for expert environmental assessments like State of the Environment and Great Barrier Reef Outlook reports.

Each sample collected contains a wealth of genetic information—but we currently analyse only a quarter of the DNA extracted. The remainder is carefully preserved in ultra-low freezers, forming a growing DNA archive, or “biobank”, that allows scientists to revisit these samples and answer new questions as technologies and challenges evolve. The power of this long-term approach was recently demonstrated in a multi-partner collaboration that turned to this DNA archive to investigate the harmful algal bloom that affected South Australia. By analysing archived DNA from the IMOS National Reference Station near Kangaroo Island, we discovered that the algae responsible for the bloom, Karenia cristata, has likely been present in local south Australian waters for at least a decade, since the early years of the monitoring program.

These findings highlight the extraordinary value of sustained observations and DNA archives: samples collected years ago can reveal new insights today, helping us better understand and respond to changes in our marine environment.