Testate Amoebae (Arcellinida, Amoebozoa) Community Diversity in New England Bogs and Fens Assessed through Lineage-Specific Amplicon Sequencing

Authors

Olivia K. Dufour, Smith College
Evie Hoffman, Smith College
Robin S. Sleith, Smith College
Laura A. Katz, Smith CollegeFollow
Agnes K.M. Weiner, Smith College
Taylor R. Sehein, Smith College

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-2024

Publication Title

European Journal of Protistology

Abstract

Testate amoebae (order Arcellinida) are abundant in freshwater ecosystems, including low pH bogs and fens. Within these environments, Arcellinida are considered top predators in microbial food webs and their tests are useful bioindicators of paleoclimatic changes and anthropogenic pollutants. Accurate species identifications and characterizations of diversity are important for studies of paleoclimate, microbial ecology, and environmental change; however, morphological species definitions mask cryptic diversity, which is a common phenomenon among microbial eukaryotes. Lineage-specific primers recently designed to target Arcellinida for amplicon sequencing successfully captured a poorly-described yet diverse fraction of the microbial eukaryotic community. Here, we leveraged the application of these newly-designed primers to survey the diversity of Arcellinida in four low-pH New England bogs and fens, investigating variation among bogs (2018) and then across seasons and habitats within two bogs (2019). Three OTUs represented 66% of Arcellinida reads obtained across all habitats surveyed. 103 additional OTUs were present in lower abundance with some OTUs detected in only one sampling location, suggesting habitat specificity. By establishing a baseline for Arcellinida diversity, we provide a foundation to monitor key taxa in habitats that are predicted to change with increasing anthropogenic pressure and rapid climate change.

Volume

92

DOI

10.1016/j.ejop.2023.126049

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Rights

Licensed to Smith College and distributed CC-BY 4.0 under the Smith College Faculty Open Access Policy.

Comments

Peer reviewed accepted manuscript.

Recommended Citation

Dufour, Olivia K.; Hoffman, Evie; Sleith, Robin S.; Katz, Laura A.; Weiner, Agnes K.M.; and Sehein, Taylor R., "Testate Amoebae (Arcellinida, Amoebozoa) Community Diversity in New England Bogs and Fens Assessed through Lineage-Specific Amplicon Sequencing" (2024). Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications, Smith College, Northampton, MA.
https://scholarworks.smith.edu/bio_facpubs/310