engleski

Phytoplankton eDNA metabarcoding vs. classical microscopy

In recent years, great progress has been made in the field of environmental DNA metabarcoding (eDNA) research. The comparability of phytoplankton communities obtained by eDNA metabarcoding (V9 region of the eukaryotic SSU rRNA gene) in relation to the morphological approach (Utermöhl method) was studied from April to September in seven Croatian natural karst lakes with an area greater than 0, 5 km2. The lake phytoplankton index (HLPI) was calculated for both approaches to apply the eDNA metabarcoding for assessing the ecological status of the lakes. Although taxonomic and functional group (FG) composition differed, phytoplankton index values from both approaches were significantly correlated, mainly due to the same or similar factors assigned to different FGs with similar ecological requirements and favourable habitats. When comparing taxa directly, the most overlap between methods was found in lakes Kozjak and Prošće, and the least in shallow Lake Vransko. The weak overlap can be explained by a lack of representative sequences in the database for the targeted 18S rRNA gene. Although the applicability of the V9 region of 18S rRNA in assessing ecological status has been demonstrated, differences in

Croatian natural karst lakes ; 18S rRNA V9 ; Utermöhl method ; functional groups ; The lake phytoplankton index

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