Exploring the potential of the COI gene marker for DNA barcoding of planktonic foraminifera.

Metabarcoding is a cornerstone of modern ecology, but its accuracy is dependent on the chosen gene marker. While the small subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU) is a powerful tool to describe protist diversity, its reliability in retrieving the composition of communities is less obvious. It is particularly challenging to obtain quantitative estimates of abundance in planktonic foraminifera, where the variability of the SSU gene copy number can span three orders of magnitude.

Microbial communities in the deep-sea sediments of the South São Paulo Plateau, Southwestern Atlantic Ocean.

Microbial communities play a key role in the ocean, acting as primary producers, nutrient recyclers, and energy providers. The São Paulo Plateau is a region located on the southeastern coast of Brazil within economic importance, due to its oil and gas reservoirs. With this focus, this study examined the diversity and composition of microbial communities in marine sediments located at three oceanographic stations in the southern region of São Paulo Plateau using the HOV Shinkai 6500 in 2013.