Unveiling the Faunal Diversity in the Water Column Adjacent to Two Seamounts in the Deep Arabian Sea Using Environmental DNA Metabarcoding

The diversity of organisms inhabiting deep-sea ecosystems, such as seamounts, has hitherto remained under-studied. In this study, we report on the faunal diversity in the water column adjacent to the summit and periphery of two seamounts (SMS2 and SMS3) and an oxygen minimum zone site located away f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of marine science and engineering 2024-06, Vol.12 (6), p.971
Main Authors: Kaliyath, Devika Raj, Abdulaziz, Anas, Chekidhenkuzhiyil, Jasmin, Koovapurath Useph, Abdul Jaleel, Menon, Nandini
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Aquatic crustaceans
Bar codes
Biodiversity
COI protein
Crustaceans
Cytochrome
Cytochrome oxidase
Cytochromes
Deep sea
Deep water
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
DNA barcoding
DNA sequencing
Ecosystems
Environmental DNA
Gene amplification
Gene sequencing
Genetic markers
Life sciences
Marine invertebrates
metabarcoding
Mitochondrial DNA
Nucleotide sequence
Nucleotide sequencing
Organisms
Oxygen
oxygen minimum zone
seamount
Seamounts
Water
Water circulation
Water column
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Summary:The diversity of organisms inhabiting deep-sea ecosystems, such as seamounts, has hitherto remained under-studied. In this study, we report on the faunal diversity in the water column adjacent to the summit and periphery of two seamounts (SMS2 and SMS3) and an oxygen minimum zone site located away from the seamounts in the southeast Arabian Sea. Environmental DNA (eDNA) in the water column was metabarcoded using the Cytochrome Oxidase C subunit I (COI) gene marker and Oxford Nanopore sequencing technology. Hydrographic conditions revealed that the summits of the seamounts intersect with the core oxygen minimum zone between depths of 300 and 600 m. Comparisons of COI gene sequences with those in available databases, MIDORI and BOLD, indicated the existence of a diverse group of novel organisms in the study area. Crustaceans dominated (75–95%) in the summit and periphery of the SMS2 and the OMZ site, while Cnidaria (56–63%) and Chordata (55%), respectively, dominated the summit and periphery of SMS3. Overall, the current study highlights the broad diversity of organisms living in the water column around the seamounts and underscores the potential of eDNA for exploring them.
ISSN:2077-1312
2077-1312
DOI:10.3390/jmse12060971