Fottea 10(1): 99-113, 2010 | DOI: 10.5507/fot.2010.005

Composition and dynamics of microeukaryote communities in the River Danube.

Katalin É. Szabó-Taylor1,2,4, Keve T. Kiss1,*, Ramiro Logares2, Alexander Eiler3, Éva Ács1, Bence Tóth1, Stefan Bertilsson2
1 Hungarian Danube Research Station of the Ecological and Botanical Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Göd, H-2131, Jávorka S. u. 14., Hungary
2 Limnology/Department of Evolution, Genomics and Systematics, Uppsala University, Norbyv. 18C, 75236, Uppsala, Sweden
3 Molecular Evolution/Department of Evolution, Genomics and Systematics, Uppsala University, Norbyv. 18C, 75236, Uppsala, Sweden
4 University of Exeter, Peninsula Medical School, St Luke's Campus, Magdalen Road, EX1 2LU, Exeter, United Kingdom

The diversity of microeukaryote communities inhabiting rivers is still poorly known. Here, we have analyzed the periphytic and planktonic microeukaryote communities present in one section of the River Danube by two different methods: 18S rRNA-based terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism with fragment sequencing and microscopical analysis of the phytoplankton and periphyton. Both data sets were then related to environmental variables. Molecular fingerprinting revealed diverse communities with fluctuating composition, with the majority of sequences affiliated to the groups Bacillariophyta, Synurophyceae and Chlorophyceae. This was in accordance with microscopical data. The total number of detected T-RFs during the study period was 145, with more than half of the T-RFs being restricted to either plankton or periphyton. This suggests that the likely different natural selection regimes experienced by microeukaryotes in these two environments may promote the presence of different lineages in each of them. Significant correlations were found between phytoplankton chlorophyll-a content, phosphorus content, temperature, and the T-RFLP pattern of the planktonic microeukaryotic community, suggesting that the former environmental factors are especially important in structuring the planktonic microeukaryote communities in the River Danube. These data, together with earlier studies suggest that molecular methods are an invaluable addition in pursuit of the better understanding of the diversity and fluctuation of freshwater microeukaryotic communities.

Keywords: River Danube; microeukaryotes; clone library; 18S rRNA; terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism, phytoplankton, microscopy

Received: April 25, 2009; Accepted: August 11, 2009; Published: March 1, 2010  Show citation

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Szabó-Taylor, K.É., Kiss, K.T., Logares, R., Eiler, A., Ács, É., Tóth, B., & Bertilsson, S. (2010). Composition and dynamics of microeukaryote communities in the River Danube. Fottea, 10(1), 99-113. doi: 10.5507/fot.2010.005
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