Metagenomic examination of diversity within eukaryotic plankton from the ulleung basin in the East Sea of Korea

Abstract

We constructed planktonic 18S rDNA clone libraries for micro-organisms in the euphotic zone of the Ulleung Basin in the East Sea of Korea. They revealed the cryptic biodiversity of eukaryotic planktons and demonstrated specific phylogenetic affiliations at certain water depths. Dinoflagellate clones dominated at the surface and 75-m depth. Members of the Syndiniales order (Groups I and II), containing wellknown parasitic dinoflagellates, as well as one their prominent hosts, Polycystinea, were found exclusively at 75 m. These observations suggest that the presence of species from Groups I and II is closely related to the specific water mass. Therefore, their metagenomics information might be useful for delineating both water-mass and physico-chemical properties.