Second-generation environmental sequencing unmasks marine metazoan biodiversity. | - CCMAR -

Journal Article

TitleSecond-generation environmental sequencing unmasks marine metazoan biodiversity.
Publication TypeJournal Article
AuthorsFonseca, VG, Carvalho, GR, Sung, W, Johnson, HF, Power, DM, Neill, SP, Packer, M, Blaxter, ML, P Lambshead, JD, W Thomas, K, Creer, S
Year of Publication2010
JournalNat Commun
Volume1
Date Published2010 Oct 19
Pagination98
ISSN2041-1723
KeywordsAnimals, Biodiversity, Computational Biology, Marine Biology, Phylogeny, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Sequence Analysis, DNA
Abstract

Biodiversity is of crucial importance for ecosystem functioning, sustainability and resilience, but the magnitude and organization of marine diversity at a range of spatial and taxonomic scales are undefined. In this paper, we use second-generation sequencing to unmask putatively diverse marine metazoan biodiversity in a Scottish temperate benthic ecosystem. We show that remarkable differences in diversity occurred at microgeographical scales and refute currently accepted ecological and taxonomic paradigms of meiofaunal identity, rank abundance and concomitant understanding of trophic dynamics. Richness estimates from the current benchmarked Operational Clustering of Taxonomic Units from Parallel UltraSequencing analyses are broadly aligned with those derived from morphological assessments. However, the slope of taxon rarefaction curves for many phyla remains incomplete, suggesting that the true alpha diversity is likely to exceed current perceptions. The approaches provide a rapid, objective and cost-effective taxonomic framework for exploring links between ecosystem structure and function of all hitherto intractable, but ecologically important, communities.

DOI10.1038/ncomms1095
Sapientia

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20981026?dopt=Abstract

Alternate JournalNat Commun
PubMed ID20981026
PubMed Central IDPMC2963828
Grant ListMR/K001744/1 / / Medical Research Council / United Kingdom
CCMAR Authors