Protist diversity and co-occurrence patterns obtained by metabarcoding of terricolous lichens, coastal cliffs and a microbial mat in the Atacama Desert, northern Chile.

Protists can endure challenging environments sustaining key ecosystem processes of the microbial food webs even under aridic or hypersaline conditions. We studied the diversity of protists at different latitudes of the Atacama Desert by massive sequencing of the hypervariable region V9 of the 18S rRNA gene from soils and microbial mats collected in the Andes. The main protist groups in soils detected in active stage through cDNA were cercozoans, ciliates, and kinetoplastids, while the diversity of protists was higher including diatoms and amoebae in the microbial mat detected solely through DNA. Co-occurrence networks from soils indicated similar assemblages dominated by amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) identified as Rhogostoma, Euplotes, and Neobodo. Microbial mat networks, on the other hand, were structured by ASVs classified as raphid-pennate diatoms and amoebae from the genera Hartmannella and Vannella, mostly negatively correlated to flagellates and microalgae. Additionally, our phylogenetic inferences of ASVs classified as Euplotes, Neobodo, and Rhogostoma were supported by sequence data of strains isolated during this study. Our results represent the first snapshot of the diversity patterns of culturable and unculturable protists and putative keystone taxa detected at remote habitats from the Atacama Desert.

Comparison of mixotrophic and heterotrophic chrysomonads of similar size regarding bacterivory and growth rate.

Small chrysomonads are important bacterivores in aquatic ecosystems with a high molecular diversity compared to low morphological differences observed by light microscopy. The high diversity of these morphologically almost indistinguishable species leads to the question to which extent their functional role in ecosystems differs and how their ecological traits can be defined. The present study investigates the prey size and population growth rate of different chrysomonad species. Eleven phylogenetically well-defined strains representing seven strains of heterotrophic and four strains of mixotrophic chrysomonads were compared. All investigated strains belonged to the same functional group of bacterivorous flagellates, feeding on the same bacteria size range, while population growth rates of chrysomonads depended on nutritional strategy and species-specific differences. We observed a high individual variability of growth rates within a population. Our results point to the necessity to consider not only differences in ecological traits among species but also among specimens within a population.

Phylotranscriptomic relationships of the Oophila clade of green algae associated to amphibian egg masses.

Green algae usually assigned to the genus Oophila are known to colonize egg capsules of amphibian egg masses across the Nearctic and Palearctic regions. We study the phylogenetic relationships of these algae using a phylotranscriptomic data set of 76 protein-coding single-copy nuclear genes. Our data set includes novel RNAseq data for six amphibian-associated and five free-living green algae, and draft genomes of two of the latter. Within the Oophila clade (nested within Moewusinia), we find samples from two European frogs (Rana dalmatina and R. temporaria) closely related to those of the North American frog R. aurora (Oophila subclade III). An isolate from the North American R. sylvatica (subclade IV) appears to be sister to the Japanese isolate from the salamander Hynobius nigrescens (subclade J1), and subclade I algae from Ambystoma maculatum are sister to all other lineages in the Oophila clade. Two free-living algae (Chlamydomonas nasuta and Cd. pseudogloeogama) are nested within the Oophila clade, and a strain of the type species of Chlorococcum (Cc. infusionum) is related to this assemblage. Our phylotranscriptomic tree suggests that recognition of different species within the Oophila clade ("clade B" of earlier studies) is warranted, and calls for a comprehensive taxonomic revision of Moewusinia.

The dilemma of underestimating freshwater biodiversity: morphological and molecular approaches.

BACKGROUND: Anthropogenic impacts on freshwater habitats are causing a recent biodiversity decline far greater than that documented for most terrestrial ecosystems. However, knowledge and description of freshwater biodiversity is still limited, especially targeting all size classes to uncover the distribution of biodiversity between different trophic levels. We assessed the biodiversity of the Lower Rhine and associated water bodies in the river's flood plain including the river's main channel, oxbows and gravel-pit lakes, spanning from the level of protists up to the level of larger invertebrate predators and herbivores organized in size classes (nano-, micro, meio- and macrofauna). Morphological diversity was determined by morphotypes, while the molecular diversity (amplicon sequencing variants, ASVs) was assessed through eDNA samples with metabarcoding targeting the V9 region of the 18S rDNA. RESULTS: Considering all four investigated size classes, the percentage of shared taxa between both approaches eDNA (ASVs with 80-100% sequence similarity to reference sequences) and morphology (morphotypes), was always below 15% (5.4 ± 3.9%). Even with a more stringent filtering of ASVs (98-100% similarity), the overlap of taxa could only reach up to 43% (18.3 ± 12%). We observed low taxonomic resolution of reference sequences from freshwater organisms in public databases for all size classes, especially for nano-, micro-, and meiofauna, furthermore lacking metainformation if species occur in freshwater, marine or terrestrial ecosystems. CONCLUSIONS: In our study, we provide a combination of morphotype detection and metabarcoding that particularly reveals the diversity in the smaller size classes and furthermore highlights the lack of genetic resources in reference databases for this diversity. Especially for protists (nano- and microfauna), a combination of molecular and morphological approaches is needed to gain the highest possible community resolution. The assessment of freshwater biodiversity needs to account for its sub-structuring in different ecological size classes and across compartments in order to reveal the ecological dimension of diversity and its distribution.

Protist communities of microbial mats from the extreme environments of five saline Andean lagoons at high altitudes in the Atacama Desert.

Introduction: Heterotrophic protists colonizing microbial mats have received little attention over the last few years, despite their importance in microbial food webs. A significant challenge originates from the fact that many protists remain uncultivable and their functions remain poorly understood. Methods: Metabarcoding studies of protists in microbial mats across high-altitude lagoons of different salinities (4.3-34 practical salinity units) were carried out to provide insights into their vertical stratification at the millimeter scale. DNA and cDNA were analyzed for selected stations. Results: Sequence variants classified as the amoeboid rhizarian Rhogostoma and the ciliate Euplotes were found to be common members of the heterotrophic protist communities. They were accompanied by diatoms and kinetoplastids. Correlation analyses point to the salinity of the water column as a main driver influencing the structure of the protist communities at the five studied microbial mats. The active part of the protist communities was detected to be higher at lower salinities (<20 practical salinity units). Discussion: We found a restricted overlap of the protist community between the different microbial mats indicating the uniqueness of these different aquatic habitats. On the other hand, the dominating genotypes present in metabarcoding were similar and could be isolated and sequenced in comparative studies (Rhogostoma, Euplotes, Neobodo). Our results provide a snapshot of the unculturable protist diversity thriving the benthic zone of five athalossohaline lagoons across the Andean plateau.

Novel cercozoan and heterolobosean protists from the rhizosphere and phyllosphere of two endemic cacti from the Atacama Desert.

Cercozoans and heterolobose amoebae are found across terrestrial habitats where they feed on other unicellular microbes, including bacteria, fungi and microalgae. They constitute a significant fraction of soil ecosystems and are integral members of plant microbiota. Here, we present the results on the isolation of protozoans from the rhizosphere and phyllosphere of Browningia candelaris (Meyen) in the Andean Altiplano and Eulychnia taltalensis (F. Ritter) from the Coastal Cordillera of the Atacama Desert, both endemic to this ancient desert. We identified a new heterolobose amoeba species of the genus Allovahlkampfia isolated from cactus soil, three new species of the different glissomonad genera Allapsa, Neoheteromita, Neocercomonas and one new thecofilosean amoeba of the genus Rhogostoma isolated from the phyllosphere of one studied cactus. In addition, one bacterivorous flagellate was isolated from cactus spines and identified as a member of the non-scaled imbricatean family Spongomonadidae (Spongomonas). The isolation of protists from cactus spines extends the knowledge on the habitat ranges of taxa typically found on plant leaves or soils. The molecular data presented here is a prerequisite for further investigations on the ecology and diversity of protists including next-generation sequencing of microhabitats in plants and the rhizosphere, allowing for deeper taxonomic classification.

Gregarines from darkling beetles of the Atacama Desert, Atacamagregarina paposa gen. et sp. nov. from Scotobius and Xiphocephalus ovatus sp. nov. from Psectrascelis (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae).

Gregarine apicomplexans, a group of single celled organisms, inhabit the extracellular spaces of most invertebrate species. The nature of the gregarine-host interactions is not yet fully resolved, mutualistic, commensal and parasitic life forms have been recorded. In the extreme arid environment of the Atacama Desert, only a few groups of invertebrates hosting gregarines such as darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae) were able to adapt, providing an unparalleled opportunity to study co-evolutionary diversification. Here, we describe one novel gregarine genus comprising one species, Atacamagregarina paposa gen. et sp. nov., and a new species, Xiphocephalus ovatus sp. nov. (Apicomplexa: Eugregarinoridea, Stylocephalidae), found in the tenebrionid beetle genera Scotobius (Tenebrioninae, Scotobiini) and Psectrascelis intricaticollis ovata (Pimeliinae, Nycteliini), respectively. In the phylogenetic analysis based on SSU rDNA, Atacamgregarina paposa representing the new genus is basal, forming a separate clade with terrestrial gregarines specific for North American darkling beetles.

Distribution Patterns of Benthic Protist Communities Depending on Depth Revealed by Environmental Sequencing-From the Sublittoral to the Deep Sea.

Protists are key components of the microbial food web in marine pelagic systems because they link algal and bacterial production to higher trophic levels. However, their functioning and bathymetric distribution in benthic deep-sea ecosystems are still only poorly understood. However, biogeographical patterns of communities can be coupled to the functioning of ecosystems and are therefore important to understand ecological and evolutionary processes. In this study, we investigated the diversity and distribution of benthic protist communities from the sublittoral down to the deep seafloor (50-2000 m) around three islands of the Azores in the North Atlantic Ocean. Using amplicon sequencing of the V9 region (18S rDNA) of 21 samples, we found that protist community compositions from different depths were significantly different. Three assemblages were separated along the following depths: 50 m, 150-500 m and 1000-2000 m, which indicate that deep-sea areas surrounding islands might act as isolating barriers for benthic protist species. A limited gene flow between the communities could favor speciation processes, leading to the unique protist communities found at the different investigated islands.

Benthic Heterotrophic Protist Communities of the Southern Baltic Analyzed with the Help of Curated Metabarcoding Studies.

Heterotrophic protists are key components of marine ecosystems. They act as controllers of bacterial and microphytobenthos production and contribute significantly to the carbon flux to higher trophic levels. Still, metabarcoding studies on benthic protist communities are much less frequent than for planktonic organisms. Especially in the Baltic Sea, representing the largest brackish water environment on earth, so far, no extensive metabarcoding studies have been conducted to assess the diversity of benthic protists in this unique and diverse habitat. This study aims to give first insights into the diversity of benthic protist communities in two different regions of the Baltic Sea, Fehmarnbelt, and Oderbank. Using amplicon sequencing of the 18S rDNA V9 region of over 100 individual sediment samples, we were able to show significant differences in the community composition between the two regions and to give insights into the vertical distribution of protists within the sediment (0-20 cm). The results indicate that the differences in community composition in the different regions might be explained by several abiotic factors such as salinity and water depth, but are also influenced by methodological aspects such as differences between DNA and RNA results.

High diversity and isolated distribution of aquatic heterotrophic protists in salars of the Atacama Desert at different salinities.

The species richness of eukaryotes in the hypersaline environment is generally thought to be low. However, recent studies showed a high degree of phylogenetic novelty at these extreme conditions with variable chemical parameters. These findings call for a more thorough look into the species richness of hypersaline environments. In this study, various hypersaline lakes (salars, 1-348 PSU) as well as further aquatic ecosystems of northern Chile were investigated regarding diversity of heterotrophic protists by metabarcoding studies of surface water samples. Investigations of genotypes of 18S rRNA genes showed a unique community composition in nearly each salar and even among different microhabitats within one salar. The genotype distribution showed no clear connection to the composition of main ions at the sampling sites, but protist communities from similar salinity ranges (either hypersaline, hyposaline or mesosaline) clustered together regarding their OTU composition. Salars appeared to be fairly isolated systems with only little exchange of protist communities where evolutionary lineages could separately evolve.

Biogeography, autecology, and phylogeny of Percolomonads based on newly described species.

Percolomonads (Heterolobosea) are aquatic heterotrophic flagellates frequently found in saline waters up to hypersaline environments. We isolated and cultivated seven strains of percolomonad flagellates from marine waters and sediments as well as from a hypersaline inland lake in the Atacama Desert. Morphological characterizations, comprising light and scanning electron microscopy, revealed only slight differences between the strains mainly limited to the cell shape, length of flagella, and length of the ventral feeding groove. Phylogenetic analyses of the 18S and 28S rDNA genes showed the formation of three fully supported clades within the Percolomonadida: the Percolomonadidae, the Barbeliidae fam. nov. and the Lulaidae fam. nov. We describe two new families (Barbeliidae fam. nov., Lulaidae fam. nov.), a new genus (Nonamonas gen. nov.), and five new species (Percolomonas adaptabilis sp. nov., Lula levis sp. nov., Barbelia pacifica sp. nov., Nonamonas montiensis gen. et sp. nov., Nonamonas santamariensis gen. et sp. nov.). Salinity experiments showed that P. adaptabilis sp. nov. from the Atlantic was better adapted to high salinities than all other investigated strains. Moreover, comparisons of our cultivation-based approach with environmental sequencing studies showed that P. adaptabilis sp. nov. seems to be globally distributed in marine surface waters while other species seem to be more locally restricted.

Intrinsic nonlinear dynamics drive single-species systems.

The importance of oscillations and deterministic chaos in natural biological systems has been discussed for several decades and was originally based on discrete-time population growth models (May 1974). Recently, all types of nonlinear dynamics were shown for experimental communities where several species interact. Yet, there are no data exhibiting the whole range of nonlinear dynamics for single-species systems without trophic interactions. Up until now, ecological experiments and models ignored the intracellular dimension, which includes multiple nonlinear processes even within one cell type. Here, we show that dynamics of single-species systems of protists in continuous experimental chemostat systems and corresponding continuous-time models reveal typical characteristics of nonlinear dynamics and even deterministic chaos, a very rare discovery. An automatic cell registration enabled a continuous and undisturbed analysis of dynamic behavior with a high temporal resolution. Our simple and general model considering the cell cycle exhibits a remarkable spectrum of dynamic behavior. Chaos-like dynamics were shown in continuous single-species populations in experimental and modeling data on the level of a single type of cells without any external forcing. This study demonstrates how complex processes occurring in single cells influence dynamics on the population level. Nonlinearity should be considered as an important phenomenon in cell biology and single-species dynamics and also, for the maintenance of high biodiversity in nature, a prerequisite for nature conservation.

High molecular diversity in the functional group of small bacterivorous non-scaled chrysomonad flagellates.

"Spumella"-like flagellates describes similar or even indiscernible colourless non-scaled chrysophytes which are important bacterivores common in different aquatic ecosystems. Recently, phylogenetic analyses revealed a high taxonomic diversity of these flagellates leading to the description of several new genera and species. Our present work on the functional group of pelagic bacterivorous chrysomonads from different water bodies resulted in an extended taxonomic analysis among chrysophytes unveiling yet undescribed genera and species pointing to the high hidden diversity of bacterivores in the pelagial of freshwaters. On the basis of phylogenetic analyses, we describe four new genera Atacamaspumella, Chlorospumella, Pseudapoikia, and Vivaspumella and a new species of the recently described genus Poteriospumella. Beside this, we redescribe the species Ochromonas vasocystis Doflein, 1923 to Poteriospumella vasocystis comb. nov. substantiated on the high sequence similarity with Poteriospumella lacustris Boenigk et Findenig and Poteriospumella maldiviensis nov. sp.

Cafeteria in extreme environments: Investigations on C. burkhardae and three new species from the Atacama Desert and the deep ocean.

The heterotrophic nanoflagellate genus Cafeteria has been found to be ubiquitously distributed in the marine realm. We could isolate and cultivate ten strains morphologically similar to Cafeteria from various types of environment, including the deep sea, brackish waters and also meso- to hypersaline inland waters. Molecular analyses (18S rDNA, 28S rDNA) of newly isolated strains from the marine realm resulted in four more Cafeteria burkhardae strains from the deep North Atlantic Ocean and one new species (C. baltica sp. nov.) isolated from brackish waters of the Baltic Sea. Two strains isolated from the Atacama Desert belong to two new species (C. atacamiensis sp. nov. and C. paulosalfera sp. nov.), one other strain could not yet be assigned. Morphological characterizations of these strains obtained by high resolution microscopy revealed only small differences to already described species. However, molecular analyses showed a clear separation of the different Cafeteria species. We exposed several strains to different salt concentrations (2-150 PSU) to investigate their salinity tolerance. Only the marine strains of C. burkhardae were able to survive at salinities up to 150 PSU, indicating the possibility to inhabit a broader spectrum of habitats including hypersaline environments besides the deep sea with its high hydrostatic pressure.

Revision of the phylogeny of Placididea (Stramenopiles): Molecular and morphological diversity of novel placidid protists from extreme aquatic environments.

Recent studies suggested that the diversity of microbial eukaryotes in hypersaline environments is widely underestimated. Placidids are a group of heterotrophic stramenopile flagellates that are frequently found in these environments, but up to now only very few species were isolated and fully described, mostly from marine or brackish water sites. In this study, we extend the known diversity of Placididea by three new genera (Allegra, Haloplacidia, and Placilonga) compromising nine new species, isolated from athalassic, mostly hypersaline environments (Allegra dunaii, Allegra atacamiensis, Allegra hypersalina, Haloplacidia cosmopolita, Suigetsumonas keniensis) and marine waters (Placilonga atlantica, Placidia azorensis, Placidia abyssalis, Wobblia pacifica) including a description of their morphology and molecular phylogeny. In total, 36 strains were comparatively analysed. Studies from athalassic waters revealed an especially high number of different genotypes. A multigene analysis based on a ten genes dataset revealed a clear separation into marine, athalassic and brackish water clades. Several representatives were found to cope with hypersaline conditions from 20 to 250 PSU, even up to 284 PSU, suggesting that they may form a halotolerant group.

Diversity and phylogeny of percolomonads based on newly discovered species from hypersaline and marine waters.

Percolomonads are common freshwater, marine and hypersaline tetraflagellated organisms. Current phylogenetic analyses of eukaryotes comprise only two species of this underinvestigated family. Here, we studied the morphology, salinity tolerance and 18S rDNA gene-based phylogeny of seven percolomonad cultures. We describe three new genera and five novel species of Percolomonadida based on phylogenetic distances and morphological characteristics: Barbelia atlantica, B. abyssalis, Lula jakobsenorum, Nakurumonas serrata and Percolomonas doradorae. The new species show features typical for percolomonads, one long flagellum for skidding, three shorter flagella of equal length and a ventral feeding groove. The new species comprise organisms living in marine and athalassic hypersaline waters with salinity ranging from 10 to 150 PSU. Based on these novel taxa, the taxonomy and phylogeny of Percolatea was extended and further resolved.

Contrasting responses of above- and belowground diversity to multiple components of land-use intensity.

Land-use intensification is a major driver of biodiversity loss. However, understanding how different components of land use drive biodiversity loss requires the investigation of multiple trophic levels across spatial scales. Using data from 150 agricultural grasslands in central Europe, we assess the influence of multiple components of local- and landscape-level land use on more than 4,000 above- and belowground taxa, spanning 20 trophic groups. Plot-level land-use intensity is strongly and negatively associated with aboveground trophic groups, but positively or not associated with belowground trophic groups. Meanwhile, both above- and belowground trophic groups respond to landscape-level land use, but to different drivers: aboveground diversity of grasslands is promoted by diverse surrounding land-cover, while belowground diversity is positively related to a high permanent forest cover in the surrounding landscape. These results highlight a role of landscape-level land use in shaping belowground communities, and suggest that revised agroecosystem management strategies are needed to conserve whole-ecosystem biodiversity.

Diversity and substrate-specificity of green algae and other micro-eukaryotes colonizing amphibian clutches in Germany, revealed by DNA metabarcoding.

Amphibian clutches are colonized by diverse but poorly studied communities of micro-organisms. One of the most noted ones is the unicellular green alga, Oophila amblystomatis, but the occurrence and role of other micro-organisms in the capsular chamber surrounding amphibian clutches have remained largely unstudied. Here, we undertook a multi-marker DNA metabarcoding study to characterize the community of algae and other micro-eukaryotes associated with agile frog (Rana dalmatina) clutches. Samplings were performed at three small ponds in Germany, from four substrates: water, sediment, tree leaves from the bottom of the pond, and R. dalmatina clutches. Sampling substrate strongly determined the community compositions of algae and other micro-eukaryotes. Therefore, as expected, the frog clutch-associated communities formed clearly distinct clusters. Clutch-associated communities in our study were structured by a plethora of not only green algae, but also diatoms and other ochrophytes. The most abundant operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in clutch samples were taxa from Chlamydomonas, Oophila, but also from Nitzschia and other ochrophytes. Sequences of Oophila "Clade B" were found exclusively in clutches. Based on additional phylogenetic analyses of 18S rDNA and of a matrix of 18 nuclear genes derived from transcriptomes, we confirmed in our samples the existence of two distinct clades of green algae assigned to Oophila in past studies. We hypothesize that "Clade B" algae correspond to the true Oophila, whereas "Clade A" algae are a series of Chlorococcum species that, along with other green algae, ochrophytes and protists, colonize amphibian clutches opportunistically and are often cultured from clutch samples due to their robust growth performance. The clutch-associated communities were subject to filtering by sampling location, suggesting that the taxa colonizing amphibian clutches can drastically differ depending on environmental conditions.

Extended divergence estimates and species descriptions of new craspedid choanoflagellates from the Atacama Desert, Northern Chile.

In contrast to previous perspectives, hypersaline environments have been proven to harbour a variety of potentially highly adapted microorganisms, in particular unicellular eukaryotes. The isolated, hypersaline waterbodies in the Atacama Desert, Northern Chile are exposed to high UV radiation and deposition of toxic heavy metals, making them of great interest regarding studies on speciation and evolutionary processes. In the past two years, among a variety of other protist species, five new species of heterotrophic choanoflagellates were described and analysed from this area, showing an adaptation to a broad range of salinities. Morphological data alone does not allow for species delineation within craspedid species, additional molecular data is essential for modern taxonomy. In addition, molecular clock analyses pointed towards a strong selection force of the extreme environmental conditions. Within this study, we describe three additional craspedid choanoflagellate species, isolated from different aquatic environments. Phylogenetic analyses show two distinct clades of choanoflagellates from the Atacama, suggesting two independent invasions of at least two ancestral marine species, and, as indicated by our new data, a possible dispersal by Andean aquifers. The extended molecular clock analysis based on transcriptomic data of choanoflagellate strains from the Salar de Llamará, a hypersaline basin within the Central Depression of the Atacama Desert, reflects colonisation and divergence events which correspond to geological data of the paleohydrology.

High and specific diversity of protists in the deep-sea basins dominated by diplonemids, kinetoplastids, ciliates and foraminiferans.

Heterotrophic protists (unicellular eukaryotes) form a major link from bacteria and algae to higher trophic levels in the sunlit ocean. Their role on the deep seafloor, however, is only fragmentarily understood, despite their potential key function for global carbon cycling. Using the approach of combined DNA metabarcoding and cultivation-based surveys of 11 deep-sea regions, we show that protist communities, mostly overlooked in current deep-sea foodweb models, are highly specific, locally diverse and have little overlap to pelagic communities. Besides traditionally considered foraminiferans, tiny protists including diplonemids, kinetoplastids and ciliates were genetically highly diverse considerably exceeding the diversity of metazoans. Deep-sea protists, including many parasitic species, represent thus one of the most diverse biodiversity compartments of the Earth system, forming an essential link to metazoans.