ena-STUDY-UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND GRADUATE SCHOOL OF OCEA-16-10-2017-02:46:29:043-104
Minimal influence of detrital DNA on subseafloor sedimentary ecological surveys
The effect of extracellular DNA on sequencing surveys of subseafloor sedimentary communities is a potentially critical concern that has received little attention. Methodological limitations for assessing microbial viability in complex samples perpetuate this issue. We interrogated freshly collected Arctic and Pacific sediment for extracellular 16S rRNA genes using Propidium Monoazide. Extracellular 16S rRNA genes are only detected intermittently in three of twelve shallow (10cm below seafloor) samples and are absent from all deeper marine sediment interrogated at Arctic and Pacific sites.
The effect of extracellular DNA on sequencing surveys of subseafloor sedimentary communities is a potentially critical concern that has received little attention. Methodological limitations for assessing microbial viability in complex samples perpetuate this issue. We interrogated freshly collected Arctic and Pacific sediment for extracellular 16S rRNA genes using Propidium Monoazide. Extracellular 16S rRNA genes are only detected intermittently in three of twelve shallow (10cm below seafloor) samples and are absent from all deeper marine sediment interrogated at Arctic and Pacific sites.