Sequence diversity and novelty of natural assemblages of picoeukaryotes from the Indian Ocean

Abstract

Marine picoeukaryotes are very diverse and include many novel taxa. Using a curated dataset of 500 published 18S rDNA sequences from the Indian Ocean, we quantified diversity and novelty patterns. At a sequence distance of 0.01, the number of observed OTUs was half the number of sequences analyzed, indicating the existence of microdiverse clusters. We estimated 600-800 OTUs at this distance level, with most sequences related to marine clones from other sites and many distant to cultured organisms, highlighting the large culturing gap within protists.

Javier del Campo

Group Leader

My research aims at understanding the global diversity and distribution of eukaryotic and prokaryotic microbes employing curated phylogenetic frameworks focusing on novel environmental taxa.