title: Dynamic changes in the composition of photosynthetic picoeukaryotes in the northwestern Pacific Ocean revealed by high-throughput tag sequencing of plastid 16S rRNA genes.
abstract: Photosynthetic picoeukaryotes (PPEs) are major oceanic primary producers. However, the diversity of such communities remains poorly understood, especially in the northwestern (NW) Pacific. We investigated the abundance and diversity of PPEs, and recorded environmental variables, along a transect from the coast to the open Pacific Ocean. High-throughput tag sequencing (using the MiSeq system) revealed the diversity of plastid 16S rRNA genes. The dominant PPEs changed at the class level along the transect. Prymnesiophyceae were the only dominant PPEs in the warm pool of the NW Pacific, but Mamiellophyceae dominated in coastal waters of the East China Sea. Phylogenetically, most Prymnesiophyceae sequences could not be resolved at lower taxonomic levels because no close relatives have been cultured. Within the Mamiellophyceae, the genera Micromonas and Ostreococcus dominated in marginal coastal areas affected by open water, whereas Bathycoccus dominated in the lower euphotic depths of oligotrophic open waters. Cryptophyceae and Phaeocystis (of the Prymnesiophyceae) dominated in areas affected principally by coastal water. We also defined the biogeographical distributions of Chrysophyceae, prasinophytes, Bacillariophyceaea and Pelagophyceae. These distributions were influenced by temperature, salinity and chlorophyll a and nutrient concentrations.
authors.affiliation: Marine Ecosystem and Biological Research Center, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Ansan 15627, Republic of Korea Department of Marine Biology, Korea University of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Dong H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Marine Ecosystem and Biological Research Center, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Ansan 15627, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sung M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: An
authors.affiliation: Marine Ecosystem and Biological Research Center, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Ansan 15627, Republic of Korea Department of Marine Biology, Korea University of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sungjun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chun
authors.affiliation: Marine Ecosystem and Biological Research Center, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Ansan 15627, Republic of Korea Department of Marine Biology, Korea University of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Eun C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Deparment of Oceanography, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
authors.forename: Karen E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Selph
authors.affiliation: Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Ansan 15627, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Charity M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Marine Ecosystem and Biological Research Center, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Ansan 15627, Republic of Korea Department of Marine Biology, Korea University of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea jhnoh@kiost.ac.
authors.forename: Jae H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Noh
mesh_terms: D059001:Aquatic Organisms / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D002681:China; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000235:genetics; D000077194:Chlorophyll A; D000460:Chlorophyta / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics; D058087:Haptophyta / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D010788:Photosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D018087:Plastids / Q000235:genetics*; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics*; D012623:Seawater; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D058009:Stramenopiles / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D002734:Chlorophyll; C085815:chlorophyll a'; D000077194:Chlorophyll A
keywords: Biogeography; East China Sea; MiSeq; NW Pacific; Photosynthetic picoeukaryotes; Plastid 16S rRNA