Characterization of Protistan Assemblages in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, by Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis
ABSTRACT The diversity of protistan assemblages has traditionally been studied using microscopy and morphological characterization, but these methods are often inadequate for ecological studies of these communities because most small protists inherently lack adequate taxonomic characters to facilita...
Published in: | Applied and Environmental Microbiology |
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Language: | English |
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American Society for Microbiology
2004
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/aem.70.4.2028-2037.2004 https://journals.asm.org/doi/pdf/10.1128/AEM.70.4.2028-2037.2004 |
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crasmicro:10.1128/aem.70.4.2028-2037.2004 2024-06-23T07:47:29+00:00 Characterization of Protistan Assemblages in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, by Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis Gast, Rebecca J. Dennett, Mark R. Caron, David A. 2004 http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/aem.70.4.2028-2037.2004 https://journals.asm.org/doi/pdf/10.1128/AEM.70.4.2028-2037.2004 en eng American Society for Microbiology https://journals.asm.org/non-commercial-tdm-license Applied and Environmental Microbiology volume 70, issue 4, page 2028-2037 ISSN 0099-2240 1098-5336 journal-article 2004 crasmicro https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.70.4.2028-2037.2004 2024-06-03T08:11:05Z ABSTRACT The diversity of protistan assemblages has traditionally been studied using microscopy and morphological characterization, but these methods are often inadequate for ecological studies of these communities because most small protists inherently lack adequate taxonomic characters to facilitate their identification at the species level and many protistan species also do not preserve well. We have therefore used a culture-independent approach (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis [DGGE]) to obtain an assessment of the genetic composition and distribution of protists within different microhabitats (seawater, meltwater or slush on sea-ice floes, and ice) of the Ross Sea, Antarctica. Samples of the same type (e.g., water) shared more of the same bands than samples of different types (e.g., ice versus water), despite being collected from different sites. These findings imply that samples from the same environment have a similar protistan species composition and that the type of microenvironment significantly influences the protistan species composition of these Antarctic assemblages. It should be noted that a large number of bands among the samples within each microhabitat were distinct, indicating the potential presence of significant genetic diversity within each microenvironment. Sequence analysis of selected DGGE bands revealed sequences that represent diatoms, dinoflagellates, ciliates, flagellates, and several unidentified eukaryotes. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ross Sea Sea ice ASM Journals (American Society for Microbiology) Antarctic Ross Sea Applied and Environmental Microbiology 70 4 2028 2037 |
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Open Polar |
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ASM Journals (American Society for Microbiology) |
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crasmicro |
language |
English |
description |
ABSTRACT The diversity of protistan assemblages has traditionally been studied using microscopy and morphological characterization, but these methods are often inadequate for ecological studies of these communities because most small protists inherently lack adequate taxonomic characters to facilitate their identification at the species level and many protistan species also do not preserve well. We have therefore used a culture-independent approach (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis [DGGE]) to obtain an assessment of the genetic composition and distribution of protists within different microhabitats (seawater, meltwater or slush on sea-ice floes, and ice) of the Ross Sea, Antarctica. Samples of the same type (e.g., water) shared more of the same bands than samples of different types (e.g., ice versus water), despite being collected from different sites. These findings imply that samples from the same environment have a similar protistan species composition and that the type of microenvironment significantly influences the protistan species composition of these Antarctic assemblages. It should be noted that a large number of bands among the samples within each microhabitat were distinct, indicating the potential presence of significant genetic diversity within each microenvironment. Sequence analysis of selected DGGE bands revealed sequences that represent diatoms, dinoflagellates, ciliates, flagellates, and several unidentified eukaryotes. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Gast, Rebecca J. Dennett, Mark R. Caron, David A. |
spellingShingle |
Gast, Rebecca J. Dennett, Mark R. Caron, David A. Characterization of Protistan Assemblages in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, by Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis |
author_facet |
Gast, Rebecca J. Dennett, Mark R. Caron, David A. |
author_sort |
Gast, Rebecca J. |
title |
Characterization of Protistan Assemblages in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, by Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis |
title_short |
Characterization of Protistan Assemblages in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, by Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis |
title_full |
Characterization of Protistan Assemblages in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, by Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis |
title_fullStr |
Characterization of Protistan Assemblages in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, by Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis |
title_full_unstemmed |
Characterization of Protistan Assemblages in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, by Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis |
title_sort |
characterization of protistan assemblages in the ross sea, antarctica, by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis |
publisher |
American Society for Microbiology |
publishDate |
2004 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/aem.70.4.2028-2037.2004 https://journals.asm.org/doi/pdf/10.1128/AEM.70.4.2028-2037.2004 |
geographic |
Antarctic Ross Sea |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Ross Sea |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ross Sea Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ross Sea Sea ice |
op_source |
Applied and Environmental Microbiology volume 70, issue 4, page 2028-2037 ISSN 0099-2240 1098-5336 |
op_rights |
https://journals.asm.org/non-commercial-tdm-license |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.70.4.2028-2037.2004 |
container_title |
Applied and Environmental Microbiology |
container_volume |
70 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
2028 |
op_container_end_page |
2037 |
_version_ |
1802651601638260736 |