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Diversity and Transformation of the Community of Planktonic Freshwater Protists in the Estuarine Tributary Zone of a Large Plainland Reservoir: Metabarcoding of the 18S Ribosomal RNA Gene

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Abstract—

The first data on the composition and diversity of the summer community of planktonic protists in Usinsky Bay and the adjacent water area of the Kuybyshev Reservoir, obtained using high-throughput sequencing of the 18S ribosomal RNA gene, are presented. In the composition of the protist community, 1150 operational taxonomic units (OTU) were found; among them, representatives of the Stramenopiles–Alveolata–Rhizaria (SAR) supergroup predominate. In the complete library, Stramenopiles predominate by the number of OTU, represented (in descending order) by Chrysophyceae (8.5%), Opalozoa (8.3%), Diatomea (4.7%), and Oomycetes (Peronosporomycetes) (3.7%); by the number of nucleotide sequences, Alveolata (62.0%) and, first of all, Ciliata (56.9%). There are four interconnected communities of protists: of the river area, the bay itself, the mouth zone, and the reservoir outside the influence of the bay (above the mouth). The communities of the river area and the reservoir area above the mouth have the greatest contrast in composition. In general, the estuarine system studied has features of both ecocline and ecotone. The competitive relationships with cyanobacteria have the main effect on the development of the phototrophic component of eukaryotic plankton. Cyanobacterial “bloom” also affects the structure of the heterotrophic part of the community, although this effect is less pronounced. The development of Archaeplastida, Rhizaria, and minor groups of protists positively correlates with the portion of Metazoa sequences in the samples, which reflects the intensity of the metazooplankton press. Sequences belonging to Bolidophyceae and Rhodelphida, the taxa rare for freshwater, were found. These findings expand the biogeography of these groups that were found so far in very few freshwater reservoirs.

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Funding

This work was carried out under a State Assignment on the topic “Change, Sustainability, and Conservation of Biological Diversity under the Influence of Global Climate Change and Intensive Anthropogenic Load on Ecosystems of the Volga Basin” (project № 122032500063-0) and was supported in part by a Governor’s grant in the field of science and technology approved by the order of the Governor of Samara oblast of June 30, 2021, project no. 202-r (grant no. 38).

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  1. Samara Federal Research Scientific Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Ecology of the Volga River Basin, Russian Academy of Sciences, 445003, Tolyatti, Russia

    M. V. Umanskaya, M. Yu. Gorbunov, S. V. Bykova & N. G. Tarasova

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  1. M. V. Umanskaya
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  2. M. Yu. Gorbunov
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  3. S. V. Bykova
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Correspondence to M. V. Umanskaya.

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Umanskaya, M.V., Gorbunov, M.Y., Bykova, S.V. et al. Diversity and Transformation of the Community of Planktonic Freshwater Protists in the Estuarine Tributary Zone of a Large Plainland Reservoir: Metabarcoding of the 18S Ribosomal RNA Gene. Biol Bull Russ Acad Sci 50, 707–723 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359022602804

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