18S rRNA Analysis Reveals High Diversity of Phytoplankton with Emphasis on a Naked Dinoflagellate <i>Gymnodinium</i> sp. at the Han River (Korea)
2021
Buhari Lawan Muhammad | Taehee Kim | Jang-Seu Ki
Biomonitoring of phytoplankton communities in freshwater ecosystems is imperative for efficient water quality management. In the present study, we present the seasonal diversity of phytoplankton from the non-reservoir area of the Han River (Korea), assessed using the 18S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Our results uncovered a considerably high eukaryotic diversity, which was predominantly represented by phytoplankton in all the seasons (38–63%). Of these, the diatoms, <i>Cyclostephanos tholiformis</i>, <i>Stephanodiscus hantzschii</i>, and <i>Stephanodiscus</i> sp., were frequently detected in spring and winter. Interestingly, for the first time in the Han River, we detected a large number of operational taxonomic unit (OTU) reads belonging to the naked dinoflagellate <i>Gymnodinium</i> sp., which dominated in autumn (15.8%) and was observed only in that season. Molecular cloning and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) confirmed the presence of <i>Gymnodinium</i> sp. in the samples collected in 2012 and 2019. Moreover, a comparison of the present data with our previous data from a reservoir area (Paldang Dam) revealed similar patterns of phytoplankton communities. This molecular approach revealed a prospective toxic species that was not detected through microscopy. Collectively, resolving phytoplankton communities at a level relevant for water quality management will provide a valuable reference for future studies on phytoplankton for environmental monitoring.
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