Global standardized metabarcoding survey of soil eukaryotes (fungi, protists, plants and animals)
Soil eukaryotes, including fungi, protists, plants and animals, are central to biosphere functioning and resilience to environmental change. The Standardised Global Soil Eukaryome Dataset (GloSED) is the first global dataset encompassing the entire spectrum of soil eukaryotes that covers 4,147 sampling sites in 121 countries, revealing nearly one million taxonomically annotated operational taxonomic units. The samples are accompanied by extensive directly measured soil and land-cover metadata. All samples were collected and analysed using a standardised protocol minimizing technical biases. A rigorous metabarcoding analysis and bioinformatic processing of the full-length ITS and 18S-V9 regions provide broad taxonomic coverage and high-resolution identification, including for poorly studied taxa, such as non-Dikarya and small protist groups. The dataset is supported by raw sequence data and an open-source, containerized workflow for reproducible analyses. GloSED presents by far the most comprehensive database of soil eukaryome, facilitating ecological and biogeographic analyses of entire soil eukaryotic communities from local to global scales.