Hundred years of genetic structure in a sediment revived diatom population.

ABSTRACT: This paper presents research on the genetic structure and diversity of populations of a common marine protist and their changes over time. The bloom-forming diatom Skeletonema marinoi was used as a model organism. Strains were revived from anoxic discrete layers of a (210)Pb-dated sediment core accumulated over more than 100 y, corresponding to >40,000 diatom mitotic generations. The sediment core was sampled from the highly eutrophic Mariager Fjord in Denmark. The genetic structure of S. marinoi was examined using microsatellite markers, enabling exploration of changes through time and of the effect of environmental fluctuations. The results showed a stable population structure among and within the examined sediment layers, and a similar genetic structure has been maintained over thousand

SUBMITTER: Harnstrom K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3054006 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature