Diversity and Distribution of Marine Microbial Eukaryotes in the Arctic Ocean and Adjacent Seas

• Published in: Applied and Environmental Microbiology
• Main Authors: Lovejoy, Connie, Massana, Ramon, Pedrós-Alió, Carlos
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Society for Microbiology 2006
• Subjects: Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Canada; Greenland; Beaufort Sea; canada basin; Climate change
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/27470; https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.72.5.3085-3095.2006

11 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, supplemental material http://aem.asm.org/content/72/5/3085/suppl/DC1 We analyzed microbial eukaryote diversity in perennially cold arctic marine waters by using 18S rRNA gene clone libraries. Samples were collected during concurrent oceanographic missions to opposite sides of the Arctic Ocean Basin and encompassed five distinct water masses. Two deep water Arctic Ocean sites and the convergence of the Greenland, Norwegian, and Barents Seas were sampled from 28 August to 2 September 2002. An additional sample was obtained from the Beaufort Sea (Canada) in early October 2002. The ribotypes were diverse, with different communities among sites and between the upper mixed layer and just below the halocline. Eukaryotes from the remote Canada Basin contained new phylotypes belonging to the radiolarian orders Acantharea, Polycystinea, and Taxopodida. A novel group within the photosynthetic stramenopiles was also identified. One sample closest to the interior of the Canada Basin yielded only four major taxa, and all but two of the sequences recovered belonged to the polar diatom Fragilariopsis and a radiolarian. Overall, 42% of the sequences were <98% similar to any sequences in GenBank. Moreover, 15% of these were <95% similar to previously recovered sequences, which is indicative of endemic or undersampled taxa in the North Polar environment. The cold, stable Arctic Ocean is a threatened environment, and climate change could result in significant loss of global microbial biodiversity This study was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC); ESTRAMAR (CTM2004-12631/MAR, MEC), Spain; PICODIV (EVK3-CT-199-00021); the European Union; and Fonds Québécois de Recherche sur la Nature et les Technologies, Québec, Canada. Oceanographic sampling was made possible by the Strategic Science Fund from Fisheries and Oceans, Canada; the Japan Marine Science and Technology Center; the Canada Climate Action Fund; and funds from ARTIC (REN2001-4909-E/ANT, ...