Composition and dynamics of microeukaryote communities in the River Danube

• The diversity of microeukaryote communities inhabiting rivers is still poorly known. Here, we have analyzed the periphytic and planktonic microeukaryote communities present in one section of the River Danube by two different methods: 18S rRNA-based terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism with fragment sequencing and microscopical analysis of the phytoplankton and periphyton. Both data sets were then related to environmental variables. Molecular fingerprinting revealed diverse communities with fluctuating composition, with the majority of sequences affiliated to the groups Bacillariophyta, Synurophyceae and Chlorophyceae. This was in accordance with microscopical data. The total number of detected T-RFs during the study period was 145, with more than half of the T-RFs being restricted to either plankton or periphyton. This suggests that the likely different natural selection regimes experienced by microeukaryotes in these two environments may promote the presence of different lineages in each of them. Significant correlations were found between phytoplankton chlorophyll a content, phosphorus content, temperature, and the T RFLP pattern of the planktonic microeukaryotic community, suggesting that the former environmental factors are especially important in structuring the planktonic microeukaryote communities in the River Danube. These data, together with earlier studies suggest that molecular methods are an invaluable addition in pursuit of the better understanding of the diversity and fluctuation of freshwater microeukaryotic communities.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

River Danube

microeukaryotes

clone library

18S rRNA

terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism

phytoplankton

microscopy

Biology

Biologi

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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