Metabarcoding assessment of prokaryotic and eukaryotic taxa in sediments from Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary

Abstract

Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS) in the Gulf of Maine is a historic fishing ground renowned for remarkable productivity. Biodiversity conservation is a key management priority for SBNMS and yet data on the diversity of microorganisms, both prokaryotic and eukaryotic, is lacking. This study utilized next generation sequencing to characterize sedimentary communities within SBNMS at three sites over two seasons. Targeting 16S and 18S small subunit (SSU) rRNA genes and fungal Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) rDNA sequences, samples contained high diversity at all taxonomic levels and identified 127 phyla, including 115 not previously represented in the SBNMS Management Plan and Environmental Assessment. A majority of the diversity was bacterial, with 59 phyla, but also represented were nine Archaea, 18 Animalia, 14 Chromista, eight Protozoa, two Plantae, and 17 Fungi phyla. Samples from different sites and seasons were dominated by the same high abundance organisms but displayed considerable variation in rare taxa. The levels of biodiversity seen on this small spatial scale suggest that benthic communities of this area support a diverse array of micro- and macro-organisms, and provide a baseline for future studies to assess changes in community structure in response to rapid warming in the Gulf of Maine.

Meta‐omics highlights the diversity, activity and adaptations of fungi in deep oceanic crust

“…Here we report a total of 59 fungal genera detected using a combination of culture‐dependent and ‐independent methods. Most of them are identified as Penicillium , Aspergillus , Cladosporium and Debaryomyces , all ubiquitous taxa commonly detected in deep‐sea and deep‐subsurface habitats using marker gene (Tedersoo et al ., 2015; Li et al ., 2016, 2019; Pang et al ., 2019; Polinski et al ., 2019) and culture‐based approaches (Nagano et al ., 2010, 2017; Manohar et al ., 2014; Hirayama et al ., 2015; Zhang et al ., 2016). While it is possible that some fraction of this diversity may exist as spores and therefore may not be metabolically active, their consistent detection in these habitats strongly suggests the environmental relevance of at least some fraction of this community to the deep biosphere.…”

Integration of DNA-Based Approaches in Aquatic Ecological Assessment Using Benthic Macroinvertebrates

“…The location of the sampled regions has been mostly concentrated in the Palearctic, Nearctic (Northern Hemisphere), and Australasia, with a few studies in the Antarctic and IndoMalay (Southern Hemisphere) and absent in Neotropics and Afrotropics (Figure 2). In fresh waters, most studies pertained to the macroinvertebrate fauna of watercourses (rivers or streams, e.g., [23,85,86,88]), and a smaller amount in ponds (e.g., [60,72,89]), wetlands (e.g., [54,90,91]), lakes (e.g., [61,92]), or reservoirs (e.g., [57]), whereas in marine waters, most studies were conducted in open coastal regions (e.g., [80,[93][94][95][96]), with a few in the deep sea [87,97]. In transitional waters, studies have been performed in estuaries (e.g., [15,27,39,58]) and also in coastal lagoons [98].…”

“…In marine waters, within each sampled region, the number of sampling sites also varied from single (e.g., [40,41,98,105]) to multiple (e.g., [27,55,81,83]), but within each site, most surveys included multiple sites. A lower number of studies addressed temporal or seasonal effects [63,75,95] (Table S2). In fresh waters, studies vary from a single (e.g., [99]) to multiple sites, i.e., locations (e.g., [61,63,67,74,85,100]), and within each site, some studies consider multiple sampling points so that all habitats or different sampling times were represented in the sample, and the possibility of detecting the occurring macroinvertebrate fauna increases (e.g., [36,59,62,101]) (Table S2).…”

“…In marine waters, within each sampled region, the number of sampling sites also varied from single (e.g., [40,41,98,105]) to multiple (e.g., [27,55,81,83]), but within each site, most surveys included multiple sites. A lower number of studies addressed temporal or seasonal effects [63,75,95] (Table S2).…”

Metabolites of Marine Sediment-Derived Fungi: Actual Trends of Biological Activity Studies

“…The diversity of microorganisms, both prokaryotic and eukaryotic, of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf of Maine (the Atlantic Ocean, US coastline) has been investigated. The majority of the community was bacterial, with 59 phyla, but also represented were 17 Fungi, 9 Archaea, 18 Animalia, 14 Chromista, 8 Protozoa, and 2 Plantae phyla [4].…”