Enumeration of Parasitic Chytrid Zoospores in the Columbia River via Quantitative PCR.

ABSTRACT:

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Through lethal infection, fungal parasites of phytoplankton ("chytrids") repackage organic material from the large, effectively inedible, colonial diatoms they infect into much smaller zoospores, which are easier for zooplankton to consume. However, their small size and lack of distinguishing morphological features render it difficult to distinguish zoospores from other small flagellates in mixed assemblages in the natural environment. In this study, we developed and tested a method to quantify chytrid zoospores in field studies using quantitative PCR (qPCR) targeting the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region within the rRNA gene cluster. To achieve accurate quantification, the assay was designed to be highly specific for a parasite (Rhizophydium planktonicum) of t

SUBMITTER: Maier MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4907184 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature