Sequencing of a mitochondrial intergenic spacer and 23S subunit was used to investigate the phylogeographic patterns in Fucus vesiculosus. Samples originated from 21 sites spanning six subbasins of the Baltic Sea. We identify a putative... more
Sequencing of a mitochondrial intergenic spacer and 23S subunit was used to investigate the phylogeographic patterns in Fucus vesiculosus. Samples originated from 21 sites spanning six subbasins of the Baltic Sea. We identify a putative ancestral mitochondrial haplotype that entered the Baltic Sea from the Atlantic, colonising extensively throughout the species’ distribution. The dominance of this haplotype is seen in the low overall haplotype diversity (H d = 0.29). Moreover, there is indication of few spatially aggregated patterns in the deeper demographic time scales (F ct = 0.040; F st = 0.049). Tajima’s D (−0.685, p-value 0.297) and Fu’s F S (0.267, p-value 0.591) showed no significant signals of extreme demographic changes. The Baltic Sea free-living Fucus is confirmed as F. vesiculosus or a closely related species. Haplotype diversities are comparable between forms (attached H d = 0.306; free-living H d = 0.268). The relatively short temporal scale for colonisation alongside ...
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Background Sloths are slow-moving arboreal mammals inhabiting tropical rainforests in Central and South America. The six living species of sloths are occasionally reported to display a greenish discoloration of their pelage. Trichophilus... more
Background Sloths are slow-moving arboreal mammals inhabiting tropical rainforests in Central and South America. The six living species of sloths are occasionally reported to display a greenish discoloration of their pelage. Trichophilus welckeri, a green algal species first described more than a century ago, is widely believed to discolor the animals fur and provide the sloth with effective camouflage. However, this phenomenon has not been explored in any detail and there is little evidence to substantiate this widely held opinion. Results Here we investigate the genetic diversity of the eukaryotic community present in fur of all six extant species of sloth. Analysis of 71 sloth hair samples yielding 426 partial 18S rRNA gene sequences demonstrates a diverse eukaryotic microbial assemblage. Phylogenetic analysis reveals that sloth fur hosts a number of green algal species and suggests that acquisition of these organisms from the surrounding rainforest plays an important role in the...
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Ciliophora is a phylum of unicellular eukaryotes that are common and have pivotal roles in aquatic environments. Sea ice is a marine habitat, which is composed of a matrix of solid ice and pockets of saline water in which Ciliophora... more
Ciliophora is a phylum of unicellular eukaryotes that are common and have pivotal roles in aquatic environments. Sea ice is a marine habitat, which is composed of a matrix of solid ice and pockets of saline water in which Ciliophora thrive. Here, we used phylogenetic placement to identify Ciliophora 18S ribosomal RNA reads obtained from wintertime water and sea ice, and assigned functions to the reads based on this taxonomic information. Based on our results, sea-ice Ciliophora assemblages are poorer in taxonomic and functional richness than under-ice water and water-column assemblages. Ciliophora diversity stayed stable throughout the ice-covered season both in sea ice and in water, although the assemblages changed during the course of our sampling. Under-ice water and the water column were distinctly predominated by planktonic orders Choreotrichida and Oligotrichida, which led to significantly lower taxonomic and functional evenness in water than in sea ice. In addition to plankto...
Research Interests: Microbiology, Microbial Ecology, Biology, Ecology, Medicine, and 3 moreSea Ice, Plankton, and Water Column
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The accumulation and production of biochemical compounds in microalgae are influenced by available light quality and algal species-specific features. In this study, four freshwater cryptophyte strains (Cryptomonas ozolinii, C.... more
The accumulation and production of biochemical compounds in microalgae are influenced by available light quality and algal species-specific features. In this study, four freshwater cryptophyte strains (Cryptomonas ozolinii, C. pyrenoidifera, C. curvata, and C. sp. (CPCC 336)) and one marine strain (Rhodomonas salina) were cultivated under white (control), blue, and green (experimental conditions) lights. Species-specific responses to light quality were detected, i.e., the color of light significantly affected cryptophyte biomass productivity and biochemical compositions, but the optimal light for the highest chemical composition with high antioxidant capacity was different for each algal strain. Overall, the highest phycoerythrin (PE) content (345 mg g−1 dry weight; DW) was reached by C. pyrenoidifera under green light. The highest phenolic (PC) contents (74, 69, and 66 mg g−1 DW) were detected in C. curvata under control conditions, in C. pyrenoidifera under green light, and in C. ...
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Tässä kirjallisuustutkimuksessa käsitellään rantavyöhykkeen eliöyhteisöjä ja niiden tutkimusmenetelmiä sekä näiden soveltuvuutta vesialueen tilan arvioimiseen. Koska sisävesistä ei tällaisia tutkimuksia juuri ole tehty, julkaisu... more
Tässä kirjallisuustutkimuksessa käsitellään rantavyöhykkeen eliöyhteisöjä ja niiden tutkimusmenetelmiä sekä näiden soveltuvuutta vesialueen tilan arvioimiseen. Koska sisävesistä ei tällaisia tutkimuksia juuri ole tehty, julkaisu käsittelee käytännössä pelkästään Itämeren rannikoita, ja siihen on pyritty kokoamaan kaikki löydetty alan kirjallisuus. Työ sisältää myös yhteenvedon makroskooppisten levien ravinnevaatimuksista ja ravinnekuormituksen vaikutuksista rantayhteisöihin. Julkaisu on tarkoitettu kaikille, jotka tarvitsevat tietoja pohjoisen Itämeren rantavyöhykkeen rakenteesta ja toiminnasta
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Amplicon read sequencing has revolutionized the field of microbial diversity studies. The technique has been developed for bacterial assemblages and has undergone rigorous test-ing with mock communities. However, due to the great... more
Amplicon read sequencing has revolutionized the field of microbial diversity studies. The technique has been developed for bacterial assemblages and has undergone rigorous test-ing with mock communities. However, due to the great complexity of eukaryotes and the numbers of different rDNA copies, analyzing eukaryotic diversity is more demanding than analyzing bacterial or mock communities, so studies are needed that test the methods of analyses on taxonomically diverse natural communities. In this study, we used 20 samples collected from the Baltic Sea ice, slush and under-ice water to investigate three program packages (UPARSE, mothur and QIIME) and 18 different bioinformatic strategies imple-mented in them. Our aim was to assess the impact of the initial steps of bioinformatic strate-gies on the results when analyzing natural eukaryotic communities. We found significant differences among the strategies in resulting read length, number of OTUs and estimates of diversity as well as c...
Molecular evidence for a diverse green algal community growing in the hair of sloths and a
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This study investigates the genetic structure of an eukaryotic microorganism, the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium ostenfeldii, from the Baltic Sea, a geologically young and ecologically marginal brackish water estuary which is predicted... more
This study investigates the genetic structure of an eukaryotic microorganism, the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium ostenfeldii, from the Baltic Sea, a geologically young and ecologically marginal brackish water estuary which is predicted to support evolution of distinct, genetically impoverished lineages of marine macroorganisms. Analyses of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences and Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) of 84 A. ostenfeldii isolates from five different Baltic locations and multiple external sites revealed that Baltic A. ostenfeldii is phylogenetically differentiated from other lineages of the species and micro-geographically fragmented within the Baltic Sea. Significant genetic differentiation (FST) between northern and southern locations was correlated to geographical distance. However, instead of discrete genetic units or continuous genetic differentiation, the analysis of population structure suggests a complex and partially hierarchic pattern o...
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Due to the unique and extreme physico-chemical conditions in sea ice, i.e. the high salinity and the icy matrix, it constitutes a favourable habitat for the production of high levels of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) by the inhabiting... more
Due to the unique and extreme physico-chemical conditions in sea ice, i.e. the high salinity and the icy matrix, it constitutes a favourable habitat for the production of high levels of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) by the inhabiting microalgae. High concentrations of DMSP and DMS (dimethylsulfide) are frequently found in sea ice during spring and summer. Records of production during winter are still scarce, but first evidence indicates the potential importance for global budgeting. Our study presents profiles of DMS(P) in sea ice cores collected during the AWECS (Antarctic Winter Ecosytem Climate Study) cruise on RV Polarstern (ANT29-6) in the Weddell Sea. Results show that significant DMS(P) production also occurs during winter in sea ice of the Weddell Sea. This stands in contrast to previous measurements in Arctic winter sea ice (CFL-IPY cruise in the Circumpolar Flaw Lead Polynya), where DMS(P) concentrations were very low. Possible explanations for the differences between ...
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1. The formation of sea ice impacts directly on the physical dynamics of water masses (e.g. wind stress at the sea surface) and air-sea exchange processes (e.g. vertical heat fluxes). 2. The annual cycle of formation, consolidation and... more
1. The formation of sea ice impacts directly on the physical dynamics of water masses (e.g. wind stress at the sea surface) and air-sea exchange processes (e.g. vertical heat fluxes). 2. The annual cycle of formation, consolidation and melting of sea ice has a major influence on the ecology of both the benthic and pelagic components of the Baltic Sea ecosystem. 3. There is considerable inter-annual variation in the extent of sea ice in the Baltic Sea and thus in the size of the habitat for sympagic (ice-associated) microbial and metazoan communities as well as for larger organisms living on the ice, notably the ringed seal. 4. There is a pronounced gradient in ice characteristics, from more saline ice in the south of the Baltic Sea to freshwater ice in the north. The former is more porous and supports more ice-associated biology than the latter. 5. The Baltic sympagic communities consist mainly of prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes (bacteria, diatoms, dinoflagellates, flagellates),...
The benefits of peer teaching have been intensively explored. However, there is still a lack of research in relation to student integration in higher education. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between peer teacher... more
The benefits of peer teaching have been intensively explored. However, there is still a lack of research in relation to student integration in higher education. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between peer teacher interaction and students’ experiences of components of integration in the study programme. This comprises student and teacher interaction and support as well as identification with the programme. In addition, the aim is to explore how the students experience peer teachers as effecting their integration into the programme, and to explore how they visualise the relationship between students, teachers and peer teachers as part of the programme. Peer teaching was implemented in an introductory course in Environmental Sciences, in which the peer teachers were responsible for organising and teaching the course. The study was conducted with a mixed-method approach combining questionnaire data (N = 115), open-ended experiences (N = 80) and sketches (N = 80...
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Species of Ulva are distributed worldwide in various aquatic habitats and their morphological characters change considerably in response to environmental conditions, which makes identification in this genus problematic. All Ulva species... more
Species of Ulva are distributed worldwide in various aquatic habitats and their morphological characters change considerably in response to environmental conditions, which makes identification in this genus problematic. All Ulva species so far described from the Persian Gulf, Iran, have been identified by classical taxonomic methods. In this study, Ulva spp. collected from the Persian Gulf were identified by combined morphological and molecular methods. We sequenced the internal transcribed spacer ITS2 and the rbcL gene in 15 specimens, representing typical morphotypes of over 50 samples. Maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference (BI) phylogenetic reconstructions using ITS and rbcL revealed clades, which we identified as Ulva chaugulii, U. paschima and U. ohnoi. These three species have not been recorded from the Persian Gulf, Iran before. The morphology of U. chaugulii differed considerably from its species description, showing further evidence for extreme intras...
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Microalgae produce a variety of bioactive components that provide benefits to human and animal health. Cryptophytes are one of the major groups of microalgae, with more than 20 genera comprised of 200 species. Recently, cryptophytes have... more
Microalgae produce a variety of bioactive components that provide benefits to human and animal health. Cryptophytes are one of the major groups of microalgae, with more than 20 genera comprised of 200 species. Recently, cryptophytes have attracted scientific attention because of their characteristics and biotechnological potential. For example, they are rich in a number of chemical compounds, such as fatty acids, carotenoids, phycobiliproteins and polysaccharides, which are mainly used for food, medicine, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. This paper provides a review of studies that assess protective algal compounds and introduce cryptophytes as a remarkable source of bioactive components that may be usable in biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences.
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Marine microbial communities undergo drastic changes during the seasonal cycle in high latitude seas. Despite the dominance of microbial biomass in the oceans, comprehensive studies on the seasonal changes of microbial plankton during the... more
Marine microbial communities undergo drastic changes during the seasonal cycle in high latitude seas. Despite the dominance of microbial biomass in the oceans, comprehensive studies on the seasonal changes of microbial plankton during the complete winter period are lacking. To study the seasonal variation in abundance of the microbial community, water samples were collected weekly in the Northern Baltic Sea from October to May. During ice cover from mid-January to April, samples from the sea ice and the underlying water were taken in addition to the water column samples. Abundances of bacteria, virus-like particles, nanoflagellates, and chlorophyll a concentrations were measured from sea ice, under-ice water, and the water column, and examined in relation to environmental conditions. All studied organisms had clear seasonal changes in abundance, and the sea-ice microbial community had an independent wintertime development compared to the water column. Bacteria were observed to have ...
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Three species of the cosmopolitan genus Ulva (U. paschima, U. chaugulii and U. ohnoi) from the Persian Gulf were identified using morphological and molecular markers, and were analyzed for total lipids, fatty acids, proteins and amino... more
Three species of the cosmopolitan genus Ulva (U. paschima, U. chaugulii and U. ohnoi) from the Persian Gulf were identified using morphological and molecular markers, and were analyzed for total lipids, fatty acids, proteins and amino acid profiles. Our results show that the studied Ulva species have high protein content (9−25% dry weight), contain essential fatty acids and nearly all essential amino acids. This suggests Ulva could have potential as a form of human nutrition and animal feed with a low carbon footprint.
Research Interests: Plant Biology and Biology
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Journal of Applied Phycology pp 1–9 Antidiabetic and antioxidant activities of brown and red macroalgae from the Persian Gulf • Authors • Authors and affiliations • Kiana Pirian • Soheila MoeinEmail author • Jelveh Sohrabipour • Reza... more
Journal of Applied Phycology pp 1–9 Antidiabetic and antioxidant activities of brown and red macroalgae from the Persian Gulf • Authors • Authors and affiliations • Kiana Pirian • Soheila MoeinEmail author • Jelveh Sohrabipour • Reza Rabiei • Jaanika Blomster • Kiana Pirian o 1 • Soheila Moein o 1 o 2 Email author • Jelveh Sohrabipour o 3 • Reza Rabiei o 3 • Jaanika Blomster o 4 1. 1.Molecular Medicine Research Center, Hormozgan Health InstituteHormozgan University of Medical ScienceBandar AbbasIran 2. 2.Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of MedicineHormozgan University of Medical SciencesBandar AbbasIran 3. 3.Department of Plant SystematicsAgriculture and Natural Resources Researches Center of HormozganBandar AbbasIran 4. 4.Department of Environmental SciencesUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland Article First Online: 11 May 2017 DOI: 10.1007/s10811-017-1152-0 Cite this article as: Pirian, K., Moein, S., Sohrabipour, J. et al. J Appl Phycol (2017). doi:10.1007/s10811-017-1152-0 • ...
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Sea-ice samples intended for biological analyses, e.g., chlorophyll-a, cell enumeration of algae and protozoa and primary production, are affected by the sampling and sample processing methods. In this study, we compared different sample... more
Sea-ice samples intended for biological analyses, e.g., chlorophyll-a, cell enumeration of algae and protozoa and primary production, are affected by the sampling and sample processing methods. In this study, we compared different sample processing methods by melting Baltic Sea ice samples in different ways (direct melting, buffered melting in filtered seawater (FSW) and buffered melting in artificial seawater at two different salinities with added nutrients) at two temperatures [+4 °C and room temperature (RT)]. We show that sea-ice samples intended for most commonly used biological analyses can be melted without the addition of FSW. In particular, adding artificial seawater should be avoided. To minimize biological processes, such as growth, death, predation and pigment degradation, the melting should be done rapidly at RT preferably by gently shaking the sample to keep the melt cool.
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ABSTRACT The conversion processes of macroalgae for biofuels can be divided into thermochemical (dry) and microbiological (wet) processes. The chemical composition of macroalgae together with the pre-treatment method, conversion... more
ABSTRACT The conversion processes of macroalgae for biofuels can be divided into thermochemical (dry) and microbiological (wet) processes. The chemical composition of macroalgae together with the pre-treatment method, conversion conditions, and the characteristics of the microbes involved (wet processes) determine the yield and the properties of the biofuel produced. Macroalgae are often rich in carbohydrates, and therefore well suited for biogas, biobutanol and bioethanol productions. The content of triacylglycerols (TAGs) is the best indicator for the suitability of the alga for biodiesel production. TAGs have a high conversion rate to biodiesel, high percentage of fatty acids, and they lack phosphorus, sulfur and nitrogen. Macroalgae can have high metal concentrations, which can have an impact on conversion processes: metals may inhibit or catalyse the processes. High sulfur (especially in green algae) and nitrogen contents are also characteristic to macroalgae, and may be problematic in the production of biogas (NH3-toxicity) and the use of the oil and biodiesel (high concentrations of H2S and NOx-compounds). Macroalgae have proven to be suitable material for conversion processes, but further optimization of the processes is needed. At present, macroalgae are not economically, or in many cases not even environmentally, sustainable material when the whole production chain is considered. In this review we summarize information on the chemical composition of macroalgae in a prospect of biofuel production, and the current situation in the field of macroalgal-based biofuel production.
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The quantity of epiphytic filamentous algae varies considerably in macroalgal vegetation along rocky shores of the northern Baltic Proper. The main species responsible for irregular mass occurrences is the summer annual brown... more
The quantity of epiphytic filamentous algae varies considerably in macroalgal vegetation along rocky shores of the northern Baltic Proper. The main species responsible for irregular mass occurrences is the summer annual brown algaEctocarpus siliculosus (Dillw.) Lyngb. In this study, data collected over a 3-yr monitoring period are related to hydrographical parameters. The tideless and brackish Baltic Sea is salinity stratified,
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The green seaweeds Enteromorpha intestinalis and E. compressa are important fouling organisms commonly found in polluted and nutrient-enriched marine and brackish water habitats, where they are used in environmental monitoring.... more
The green seaweeds Enteromorpha intestinalis and E. compressa are important fouling organisms commonly found in polluted and nutrient-enriched marine and brackish water habitats, where they are used in environmental monitoring. Discrimination of the two species is extremely difficult because of overlapping morphological characters. In this study a quick molecular method for species identification was developed based on the nuclear rDNA ITS2 sequence data of 54 E. intestinalis samples and 20 E. compressa samples from a wide geographical range. Oligonucleotide probes were designed for species-specific hybridization to dot-blots of the PCR-amplified ITS1, 5.8S gene and ITS2 fragment of both E. intestinalis and E. compressa. Specificity of the oligonucleotide probes was confirmed by tests with taxonomically diverse species that could morphologically be confused with E. intestinalis or E. compressa. This is the first use of species-specific probes for macroalgae. The restriction endonuclease NruI digested specifically the amplified PCR product from E. compressa into two fragments detectable on agarose gels, but no suitable restriction sites were identifiable in the PCR product of E. intestinalis.
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Enteromorpha muscoides (Clemente y Rubio) Cre-mades and E. clathrata Roth (Greville) are morpho-logically variable species that can easily be distin-guished from other Enteromorpha species but not from each other. The key morphological... more
Enteromorpha muscoides (Clemente y Rubio) Cre-mades and E. clathrata Roth (Greville) are morpho-logically variable species that can easily be distin-guished from other Enteromorpha species but not from each other. The key morphological character separating the two ...
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Ulva, one of the first Linnaean genera, was later circumscribed to consist of green seaweeds with distromatic blades, and Enteromorpha Link was established for tubular forms. Although several lines of evidence suggest that these generic... more
Ulva, one of the first Linnaean genera, was later circumscribed to consist of green seaweeds with distromatic blades, and Enteromorpha Link was established for tubular forms. Although several lines of evidence suggest that these generic constructs are artificial, Ulva and ...
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We examined the dark survival strategy of the cold-water dinoflagellate Scrippsiella hangoei from the Baltic Sea. Cultures of S. hangoei were placed in dark and light and we followed the morphological developmentand, determined... more
We examined the dark survival strategy of the cold-water dinoflagellate Scrippsiella hangoei from the Baltic Sea. Cultures of S. hangoei were placed in dark and light and we followed the morphological developmentand, determined respiration rate and activity of extracellular leucine aminopeptidase (LAP). S. hangoei had LAP activity in the light, but not in the dark, suggesting that the degradation and use of organic substrates is not part of the dark survival strategy. After prolonged time in darkness (>5 days), S. hangoei started to shed flagella and theca, and produced a previously undescribed temporary cyst. The transformation from vegetative cell into the temporary cyst initially increased respiration rate tenfold, but after the transformation the respiration rate decreased to almost undetectable levels. The presented temporary cyst enables survival through long periods in dark by reducing the respiration rate.
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This thesis investigated if the cellulose from algal species Cladophora glomerata could be used as a feedstock for manufacturing textile fibers using the Ioncell-F process in a sustainable way. To achieve sustainability, it was... more
This thesis investigated if the cellulose from algal species Cladophora glomerata could be used as a feedstock for manufacturing textile fibers using the Ioncell-F process in a sustainable way. To achieve sustainability, it was investigated if the current methods for isolating algal cellulose could be replaced with more environmentally benign processes. The current literature available on the biorefining and fractionation of algal biomass was reviewed, and it was concluded that a major issue in the field is that most of the studies cannot readily be compared with each other, making it difficult to review and compare different fractionation options. To address this issue this thesis suggests that existing knowledge on the biological categorization of algae could be used as a basis for producing more systematic information on algal fractionation. The fractionation of the green algae, Cladophora glomerata, biomass was investigated by a twostage fractionation process, and the compositio...
Research Interests: Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Molecular Biology, Morphogenesis, Molecular Mechanics, and 12 morePhylogeny, Molecular biology and evolution, Green Algae, Seaweed, ribosomal RNA, Molecular phylogenetics, Model System, Genetic variation, Plant Development, Chlorophyta, Likelihood Functions, and Biochemistry and cell biology
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Amplicon read sequencing has revolutionized the field of microbial diversity studies. The technique has been developed for bacterial assemblages and has undergone rigorous testing with mock communities. However, due to the great... more
Amplicon read sequencing has revolutionized the field of microbial diversity studies. The technique has been developed for bacterial assemblages and has undergone rigorous testing with mock communities. However, due to the great complexity of eukaryotes and the numbers of different rDNA copies, analyzing eukaryotic diversity is more demanding than analyzing bacterial or mock communities, so studies are needed that test the methods of analyses on taxonomically diverse natural communities. In this study, we used 20 samples collected from the Baltic Sea ice, slush and under-ice water to investigate three program packages (UPARSE, mothur and QIIME) and 18 different bioinformatic strategies implemented in them. Our aim was to assess the impact of the initial steps of bioinformatic strategies on the results when analyzing natural eukaryotic communities. We found significant differences among the strategies in resulting read length, number of OTUs and estimates of diversity as well as clea...
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Ulva and Enteromorpha are two of the most common, ubiquitous, and environmentally important genera of green seaweeds. They are widely regarded as easily distinguishable because of their dramatically different morphologies: Ulva species... more
Ulva and Enteromorpha are two of the most common, ubiquitous, and environmentally important genera of green seaweeds. They are widely regarded as easily distinguishable because of their dramatically different morphologies: Ulva species are flat, lettucelike blades two cell layers thick, and Enteromorpha species form hollow liquid- or gas- filled tubes one cell thick, which may also be highly branched. We