Vertical Distribution of Microbial Eukaryotes From Surface to the Hadal Zone of the Mariana Trench.

ABSTRACT: Marine microbial eukaryotes are ubiquitous, comprised of phylogenetically diverse groups and play key roles in microbial food webs and global biogeochemical cycling. However, their vertical distribution in the deep sea has received little attention. In this study, we investigated the composition and diversity of the eukaryotes of both 0.2-3 μm and >3 μm size fractions from the surface to the hadal zone (8727 m) of the Mariana Trench using Illumina MiSeq sequencing for the 18S rDNA. The microbial eukaryotic community structure differed substantially across size fractions and depths. Operational taxonomic unit (OTU) richness in the >3 μm fraction was higher than that in the 0.2-3 μm fraction at the same depth. For the 0.2-3 μm fraction, sequences of Retaria (Rhizaria) were most abundant in t

SUBMITTER: Xu Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6120995 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature