Environmental DNA (eDNA) is used by SPUN to determine which fungi are present in a given sample of soil. DNA refers to the molecule itself, while eDNA refers to DNA molecules gathered from a specific environment such as air, soil, or water. eDNA offers vast potential, as it yields data about which organisms are present, or have been present, in a specific environment. For SPUN, this involves specifically targeting mycorrhizal fungal eDNA found in the sample through molecular biological techniques and sequencing this DNA. We then use reference databases containing known DNA sequences of fungi to identify which species are present in our samples, and our data scientists look for patterns in the diversity and composition of mycorrhizal fungi across environmental conditions.