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Eukaryotic plankton diversity in the sunlit ocean

Item Type:Article
Title:Eukaryotic plankton diversity in the sunlit ocean
Creators Name:de Vargas, C., Audic, S., Henry, N., Decelle, J., Mahe, F., Logares, R., Lara, E., Berney, C., Le Bescot, N., Probert, I., Carmichael, M., Poulain, J., Romac, S., Colin, S., Aury, J.M., Bittner, L., Chaffron, S., Dunthorn, M., Engelen, S., Flegontova, O., Guidi, L., Horak, A., Jaillon, O., Lima-Mendez, G., Lukes, J., Malviya, S., Morard, R., Mulot, M., Scalco, E., Siano, R., Vincent, F., Zingone, A., Dimier, C., Picheral, M., Searson, S., Kandels-Lewis, S., Acinas, S.G., Bork, P., Bowler, C., Gorsky, G., Grimsley, N., Hingamp, P., Iudicone, D., Not, F., Ogata, H., Pesant, S., Raes, J., Sieracki, M.E., Speich, S., Stemmann, L., Sunagawa, S., Weissenbach, J., Wincker, P. and Karsenti, E.
Abstract:Marine plankton support global biological and geochemical processes. Surveys of their biodiversity have hitherto been geographically restricted and have not accounted for the full range of plankton size. We assessed eukaryotic diversity from 334 size-fractionated photic-zone plankton communities collected across tropical and temperate oceans during the circumglobal Tara Oceans expedition. We analyzed 18S ribosomal DNA sequences across the intermediate plankton-size spectrum from the smallest unicellular eukaryotes (protists, >0.8 micrometers) to small animals of a few millimeters. Eukaryotic ribosomal diversity saturated at ~150,000 operational taxonomic units, about one-third of which could not be assigned to known eukaryotic groups. Diversity emerged at all taxonomic levels, both within the groups comprising the ~11,200 cataloged morphospecies of eukaryotic plankton and among twice as many other deep-branching lineages of unappreciated importance in plankton ecology studies. Most eukaryotic plankton biodiversity belonged to heterotrophic protistan groups, particularly those known to be parasites or symbiotic hosts.
Keywords:Biodiversity, DNA Sequence Analysis, Eukaryota, Oceans and Seas, Phylogeny, Plankton, Ribosomal DNA, Ribosomes, Sunlight, Taxonomic DNA Barcoding, Animals
Source:Science
ISSN:0036-8075
Publisher:American Association for the Advancement of Science
Volume:348
Number:6237
Page Range:1261605
Date:22 May 2015
Additional Information:Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Official Publication:https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1261605
External Fulltext:View full text on external repository or document server
PubMed:View item in PubMed

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