PCR primers for metazoan mitochondrial 12S ribosomal DNA sequences

Multiple origins of freshwater invasion and parental care reflecting ancient vicariances in the bivalve family Cyrenidae (Mollusca)

Habitat transitions in living organisms are key innovations often coupled with species diversification after their successful adaptation to new environment. The Cyrenidae is among the most well-known heterodont bivalve groups that have successfully invaded freshwater systems from brackish water environments and display diverse lineage-specific developmental modes. Phylogenetic and molecular clock-based divergence time analyses using 12 complete mitochondrial genome sequences suggest that Cyrenidae species independently colonized freshwater habitats during three distinct spatial and geological periods: one from the American continents approximately in the Early Jurassic and the two others from Australasian/East Asian continents in the Early/Middle Cretaceous and the Paleogene-Neogene boundary, respectively. This study provides significant insight into the temporal and spatial patterns of multiple freshwater invasions, aligning with ancient vicariance events inferred from different geological timelines of plate tectonics. Additionally, mitogenome phylogeny confirms the earlier hypothesis of the repeated parallel evolution of parental care system within this bivalve group.

A multilocus DNA mini-barcode assay to identify twenty vertebrate wildlife species

The world faces significant challenges in preserving the diversity of vertebrate species due to wildlife crimes. DNA barcoding, an effective molecular marker for insufficient nuclear DNA, is an authentic and quick identification technique to trace the origin of seized samples in forensic investigations. Here, we present a multiplex assay capable of identifying twenty vertebrate wildlife species utilizing twenty species-specific primers that target short fragments of the mitochondrial Cyt b, COI, 16S rRNA, and 12S rRNA genes. The assay achieved strong species specificity and sensitivity with a detection limit as low as 5 pg of DNA input. Additionally, it effectively discriminated a minor contributor (≥1%) from binary mixtures and successfully identified of noninvasive samples, inhibited DNA samples, artificially degraded DNA samples, and case samples, demonstrating a sensitive, robust, practical and easily interpretable tool in screening, and investigating forensic wildlife crimes.

The challenge of implementing environmental DNA metabarcoding to detect elasmobranchs in a resource-limited marine protected area

Elasmobranchs are threatened and eDNA metabarcoding is a powerful tool that can help efforts to better understand and conserve them. Nevertheless, the inter-calibration between optimal methodological practices and its implementation in resource-limited situations is still an issue. Based on promising results from recent studies, the authors applied a cost-effective protocol with parameters that could be easily replicated by any conservationist. Nonetheless, the results with fewer elasmobranchs detected than expected reveal that endorsed primers and sampling strategies still require further optimization, especially for applications in resource-limited conservation programmes.

Bioinformatic pipelines combining denoising and clustering tools allow for more comprehensive prokaryotic and eukaryotic metabarcoding

Environmental DNA metabarcoding is a powerful tool for studying biodiversity. However, bioinformatic approaches need to adjust to the diversity of taxonomic compartments targeted as well as to each barcode gene specificities. We built and tested a pipeline based on read correction with DADA2 allowing analysing metabarcoding data from prokaryotic (16S) and eukaryotic (18S, COI) life compartments. We implemented the option to cluster amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) into operational taxonomic units (OTUs) with swarm, a network-based clustering algorithm, and the option to curate ASVs/OTUs using LULU. Finally, taxonomic assignment was implemented via the Ribosomal Database Project Bayesian classifier (RDP) and BLAST. We validated this pipeline with ribosomal and mitochondrial markers using metazoan mock communities and 42 deep-sea sediment samples. The results show that ASVs and OTUs describe different levels of biotic diversity, the choice of which depends on the research questions. They underline the advantages and complementarity of clustering and LULU-curation for producing metazoan biodiversity inventories at a level approaching the one obtained using morphological criteria. While clustering removes intraspecific variation, LULU effectively removes spurious clusters, originating from errors or intragenomic variability. Swarm clustering affected alpha and beta diversity differently depending on genetic marker. Specifically, d-values > 1 appeared to be less appropriate with 18S for metazoans. Similarly, increasing LULU's minimum ratio level proved essential to avoid losing species in sample-poor data sets. Comparing BLAST and RDP underlined that accurate assignments of deep-sea species can be obtained with RDP, but highlighted the need for a concerted effort to build comprehensive, ecosystem-specific databases.

Environmental DNA sampling provides new management strategies for vernal pool branchiopods in California

California’s vernal pools are declining ecosystems that support valuable native plant and animal diversity. Vernal pool branchiopods are particularly at risk from vernal pool habitat loss and conservation efforts have targeted their long-term protection through the establishment of preserves and conservation banks. These conservation strategies require repeated, perpetual monitoring of preserved habitat, which is currently carried out through dip-net surveys and visual identification of specimens. Dip-netting may be destructive and frequently requires some sacrifice of protected species. Environmental DNA offers a new, modern method to monitor many protected freshwater organisms. We designed qPCR-based species-specific assays for four of California’s vernal pool branchiopods: The Vernal Pool Fairy Shrimp Branchinecta lynchi (BRLY), the Midvalley Fairy Shrimp Branchinecta mesovallensis (BRME), and the Conservancy Fairy Shrimp Branchinecta conservatio (BRCO), and the Vernal Pool Tadpole Shrimp Lepidurus packardi (LEPA). We tested these assays using eDNA sampling protocols alongside traditional dip-net surveys to assess their viability as an alternative method to monitor vernal pool branchiopods. Based on occupancy modeling, each of our assays achieved a 95% or higher detection rate when using optimized sampling protocols.

A mitochondrial genome phylogeny of Mytilidae (Bivalvia: Mytilida)

The family Mytilidae is a family of bivalve mussels that are distributed worldwide in diverse marine habitats. Within the family, classification systems and phylogenetic relationships among subfamilies remain not yet fully resolved. In this study, we newly determined 9 mitochondrial genome sequences from 7 subfamilies: Bathymodiolus thermophilus (Bathymodiolinae), Modiolus nipponicus (Modiolinae), Lithophaga curta (the first representative of Lithophaginae), Brachidontes mutabilis (Brachidontinae), Mytilisepta virgata (Brachidontinae), Mytilisepta keenae (Brachidontinae), Crenomytilus grayanus (Mytilinae), Gregariella coralliophaga (Crenellinae), and Septifer bilocularis (the first representative of Septiferinae). Phylogenetic trees using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference methods for 28 mitochondrial genomes (including 19 previously published sequences) showed two major clades with high support values: Clade 1 ((Bathymodiolinae + Modiolinae) + (Lithophaginae + Limnoperninae)) and Clade 2 (((Mytilinae + Crenellinae) + Septiferinae) + Brachidontinae). The position of the genus Lithophaga (representing Lithophaginae) differed from a previously published molecular phylogeny. Divergence time analysis with a molecular clock indicated that lineage splitting among the major subfamilies of Mytilidae (including the habitat transition from marine to freshwater environments by ancestral Limnoperninae) occurred in the Mesozoic period, coinciding with high diversification rates of marine fauna during that time. This is the first mitochondrial genome-based phylogenetic study of the Mytilidae that covers nearly all subfamily members, excluding the subfamily Dacrydiinae.

Why the COI barcode should be the community DNA metabarcode for the metazoa

Metabarcoding of complex metazoan communities is increasingly being used to measure biodiversity in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems, revolutionizing our ability to observe patterns and infer processes regarding the origin and conservation of biodiversity. A fundamentally important question is which genetic marker to amplify, and although the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene is one of the more widely used markers in metabarcoding for the Metazoa, doubts have recently been raised about its suitability. We argue that (a) the extensive coverage of reference sequence databases for COI; (b) the variation it presents; (c) the comparative advantages for denoising protein-coding genes; and (d) recent advances in DNA sequencing protocols argue in favour of standardizing for the use of COI for metazoan community samples. We also highlight where research efforts should focus to maximize the utility of metabarcoding.

Censusing marine eukaryotic diversity in the twenty-first century

The ocean constitutes one of the vastest and richest biomes on our planet. Most recent estimations, all based on indirect approaches, suggest that there are millions of marine eukaryotic species. Moreover, a large majority of these are small (less than 1 mm), cryptic and still unknown to science. However, this knowledge gap, caused by the lack of diagnostic morphological features in small organisms and the limited sampling of the global ocean, is currently being filled, thanks to new DNA-based approaches. The molecular technique of PCR amplification of homologous gene regions combined with high-throughput sequencing, routinely used to census unculturable prokaryotes, is now also being used to characterize whole communities of marine eukaryotes. Here, we review how this methodological advancement has helped to better quantify the magnitude and patterns of marine eukaryotic diversity, with an emphasis on taxonomic groups previously largely overlooked. We then discuss obstacles remaining to achieve a global understanding of marine eukaryotic diversity. In particular, we argue that 18S variable regions do not provide sufficient taxonomic resolution to census marine life, and suggest combining broad eukaryotic surveys targeting the 18S rRNA region with more taxon-focused analyses of hypervariable regions to improve our understanding of the diversity of species, the functional units of marine ecosystems.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘From DNA barcodes to biomes’.

Metazoan mitochondrial gene sequence reference datasets for taxonomic assignment of environmental samples

Mitochondrial-encoded genes are increasingly targeted in studies using high-throughput sequencing approaches for characterizing metazoan communities from environmental samples (e.g., plankton, meiofauna, filtered water). Yet, unlike nuclear ribosomal RNA markers, there is to date no high-quality reference dataset available for taxonomic assignments. Here, we retrieved all metazoan mitochondrial gene sequences from GenBank, and then quality filtered and formatted the datasets for taxonomic assignments using taxonomic assignment tools. The reference datasets—‘Midori references’—are available for download at www.reference-midori.info. Two versions are provided: (I) Midori-UNIQUE that contains all unique haplotypes associated with each species and (II) Midori-LONGEST that contains a single sequence, the longest, for each species. Overall, the mitochondrial Cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene was the most sequence-rich gene. However, sequences of the mitochondrial large ribosomal subunit RNA and Cytochrome b apoenzyme genes were observed for a large number of species in some phyla. The Midori reference is compatible with some taxonomic assignment software. Therefore, automated high-throughput sequence taxonomic assignments can be particularly effective using these datasets.

Insights into the Evolutionary History of an Extinct South American Freshwater Snail Based on Historical DNA

Highly oxygenated freshwater habitats in the High Paraná River (Argentina-Paraguay) were home to highly endemic snails of the genus Aylacostoma, which face extinction owing to the impoundment of the Yacyretá Reservoir in the 1990s. Two species, A. chloroticum and A. brunneum, are currently included in an ongoing ex situ conservation programme, whereas A. guaraniticum and A. stigmaticum are presumed extinct. Consequently, the validity and affinities of the latter two have remained enigmatic. Here, we provide the first molecular data on the extinct A. stigmaticum by means of historical DNA analysis. We describe patterns of molecular evolution based on partial sequences of the mitochondrial 12S ribosomal RNA gene from the extinct species and from those being bred within the ex situ programme. We further use this gene to derive a secondary structure model, to examine the specific status of A. stigmaticum and to explore the evolutionary history of these snails. The secondary structure model based on A. stigmaticum revealed that most polymorphic sites are located in unpaired regions. Our results support the view that the mitochondrial 12S region is an efficient marker for the discrimination of species, and the extinct A. stigmaticum is recognized here as a distinct evolutionary genetic species. Molecular phylogenetic analyses revealed a sister group relationship between A. chloroticum and A. brunneum, and estimated divergence times suggest that diversification of Aylacostoma in the High Paraná River might have started in the late Miocene via intra-basin speciation due to a past marine transgression. Finally, our findings reveal that DNA may be obtained from dried specimens at least 80 years after their collection, and confirms the feasibility of extracting historical DNA from museum collections for elucidating evolutionary patterns and processes in gastropods.

High-Throughput Sequencing-The Key to Rapid Biodiversity Assessment of Marine Metazoa?

The applications of traditional morphological and molecular methods for species identification are greatly restricted by processing speed and on a regional or greater scale are generally considered unfeasible. In this context, high-throughput sequencing, or metagenetics, has been proposed as an efficient tool to document biodiversity. Here we evaluated the effectiveness of 454 pyrosequencing in marine metazoan community analysis using the 18S rDNA: V1-V2 region. Multiplex pyrosequencing of the V1-V2 region was used to analyze two pooled samples of DNA, one comprising 118 and the other 37 morphologically identified species, and one natural sample taken directly from a North Sea zooplankton community. A DNA reference library comprising all species represented in the pooled samples was created by Sanger sequencing, and this was then used to determine the optimal similarity threshold for species delineation. The optimal threshold was found at 99% species similarity, with 85% identification success. Pyrosequencing was able to identify between fewer species: 67% and 78% of the species in the two pooled samples. Also, a large number of sequences for three species that were not included in the pooled samples were amplified by pyrosequencing, suggesting preferential amplification of some genotypes and the sensitivity of this approach to even low levels of contamination. Conversely, metagenetic analysis of the natural zooplankton sample identified many more species (particularly gelatinous zooplankton and meroplankton) than morphological analysis of a formalin-fixed sample from the same sampling site, suggesting an increased level of taxonomic resolution with pyrosequencing. The study demonstrated that, based on the V1-V2 region, 454 sequencing does not provide accurate species differentiation and reliable taxonomic classification, as it is required in most biodiversity monitoring. The analysis of artificially prepared samples indicated that species detection in pyrosequencing datasets is complicated by potential PCR-based biases and that the V1-V2 marker is poorly resolved for some taxa.

Comparative study of the validity of three regions of the 18S-rRNA gene for massively parallel sequencing-based monitoring of the planktonic eukaryote community

The nuclear 18S-rRNA gene has been used as a metabarcoding marker in massively parallel sequencing (MPS)-based environmental surveys for plankton biodiversity research. However, different hypervariable regions have been used in different studies, and their utility has been debated among researchers. In this study, detailed investigations into 18S-rRNA were carried out; we investigated the effective number of sequences deposited in international nucleotide sequence databases (INSDs), the amplification bias, and the amplicon sequence variability among the three variable regions, V1-3, V4-5 and V7-9, using in silico polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification based on INSDs. We also examined the primer universality and the taxonomic identification power, using MPS-based environmental surveys in the Sea of Okhotsk, to determine which region is more useful for MPS-based monitoring. The primer universality was not significantly different among the three regions, but the number of sequences deposited in INSDs was markedly larger for the V4-5 region than for the other two regions. The sequence variability was significantly different, with the highest variability in the V1-3 region, followed by the V7-9 region, and the lowest variability in the V4-5 region. The results of the MPS-based environmental surveys showed significantly higher identification power in the V1-3 and V7-9 regions than in the V4-5 region, but no significant difference was detected between the V1-3 and V7-9 regions. We therefore conclude that the V1-3 region will be the most suitable for future MPS-based monitoring of natural eukaryote communities, as the number of sequences deposited in INSDs increases.

Using environmental DNA to census marine fishes in a large mesocosm

The ocean is a soup of its resident species' genetic material, cast off in the forms of metabolic waste, shed skin cells, or damaged tissue. Sampling this environmental DNA (eDNA) is a potentially powerful means of assessing whole biological communities, a significant advance over the manual methods of environmental sampling that have historically dominated marine ecology and related fields. Here, we estimate the vertebrate fauna in a 4.5-million-liter mesocosm aquarium tank at the Monterey Bay Aquarium of known species composition by sequencing the eDNA from its constituent seawater. We find that it is generally possible to detect mitochondrial DNA of bony fishes sufficient to identify organisms to taxonomic family- or genus-level using a 106 bp fragment of the 12S ribosomal gene. Within bony fishes, we observe a low false-negative detection rate, although we did not detect the cartilaginous fishes or sea turtles present with this fragment. We find that the rank abundance of recovered eDNA sequences correlates with the abundance of corresponding species' biomass in the mesocosm, but the data in hand do not allow us to develop a quantitative relationship between biomass and eDNA abundance. Finally, we find a low false-positive rate for detection of exogenous eDNA, and we were able to diagnose non-native species' tissue in the food used to maintain the mesocosm, underscoring the sensitivity of eDNA as a technique for community-level ecological surveys. We conclude that eDNA has substantial potential to become a core tool for environmental monitoring, but that a variety of challenges remain before reliable quantitative assessments of ecological communities in the field become possible.

StreamingTrim 1.0: a Java software for dynamic trimming of 16S rRNA sequence data from metagenetic studies

Next-generation sequencing technologies are extensively used in the field of molecular microbial ecology to describe taxonomic composition and to infer functionality of microbial communities. In particular, the so-called barcode or metagenetic applications that are based on PCR amplicon library sequencing are very popular at present. One of the problems, related to the utilization of the data of these libraries, is the analysis of reads quality and removal (trimming) of low-quality segments, while retaining sufficient information for subsequent analyses (e.g. taxonomic assignment). Here, we present StreamingTrim, a DNA reads trimming software, written in Java, with which researchers are able to analyse the quality of DNA sequences in fastq files and to search for low-quality zones in a very conservative way. This software has been developed with the aim to provide a tool capable of trimming amplicon library data, retaining as much as taxonomic information as possible. This software is equipped with a graphical user interface for a user-friendly usage. Moreover, from a computational point of view, StreamingTrim reads and analyses sequences one by one from an input fastq file, without keeping anything in memory, permitting to run the computation on a normal desktop PC or even a laptop. Trimmed sequences are saved in an output file, and a statistics summary is displayed that contains the mean and standard deviation of the length and quality of the whole sequence file. Compiled software, a manual and example data sets are available under the BSD-2-Clause License at the GitHub repository at https://github.com/GiBacci/StreamingTrim/.

Expression of lymphocyte coding genes in peripheral blood and lymphocyte infiltration in cardiac tissues influenced by cyclosporin A in heterotopic heart transplantation model in rats

To systematically compare the expression of coding genes with pathological changes of transplanted cardiac tissue and peripheral blood lymphocytes in an allo-heterotopic rat cardiac transplant model. Using SD rats as donors and Wistar rats as recipients, animals were divided into two groups, control and cyclosporine A intervention plus heart transplant groups. After transplant at 1, 3, 7, 10 and 12d, we assessed the ability of lymphocytes to infiltrate into cardiac tissues and levels of leukocyte coding genes in peripheral blood. Histopathological changes were monitored in cardiac tissue to determine the level of transplant rejection.

RESULTS

(1) 24h after transplant peripheral blood lymphocytes' transcription and expression were temporarily reduced. (2) CD4(+) and CD8(+) lymphocytes infiltrate into cardiac tissue and Grade 1R pathological changes were observed 3d-7d after heart transplant. (3)Cyclosporine A was not able to completely block heart transplant rejection.(4) Although cyclosporine A was not able to effectively suppress CD4(+) T cell gene expression, it did suppress CD8(+) T cell gene transcription. (5) Cyclosporine A did not effectively reduce the rapid infiltration of CD4(+) or CD8(+) infiltration in 3d, but significantly reduced the degree of CD4(+) T cell infiltration in cardiac tissues between 3 and 7d. (6) Differential display (DD-PCR): Graft control group: there were differences in 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate, ribosomal protein S25, 12S ribosomal, gig18, MHC-III and ATPase H(+), which occurred 24h before CD4/CD8 surface protein expression. Cyclosporine A group: there were differences in thrombospondin-1, TCR, 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate, sodium channel beta-1, gig18 and TCR. In the cyclosporine A group 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate positive expression was observed 24h after the control group, which indicates that cyclosporine A slowed down the 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate transcription rate in peripheral lymphocytes and delayed its expression time. Cyclosporine A also suppressed gig18 transcription in peripheral lymphocytes. After 24h, sodium channel beta-1 was positively expressed in the cyclosporine A group. The relationship between molecular surface receptor expression and coding genes in cardiac tissue and peripheral blood after transplant indicates that early detection of acute rejection and anti-rejection drugs' curative effect can be assessed.

A new versatile primer set targeting a short fragment of the mitochondrial COI region for metabarcoding metazoan diversity: application for characterizing coral reef fish gut contents

INTRODUCTION

The PCR-based analysis of homologous genes has become one of the most powerful approaches for species detection and identification, particularly with the recent availability of Next Generation Sequencing platforms (NGS) making it possible to identify species composition from a broad range of environmental samples. Identifying species from these samples relies on the ability to match sequences with reference barcodes for taxonomic identification. Unfortunately, most studies of environmental samples have targeted ribosomal markers, despite the fact that the mitochondrial Cytochrome c Oxidase subunit I gene (COI) is by far the most widely available sequence region in public reference libraries. This is largely because the available versatile ("universal") COI primers target the 658 barcoding region, whose size is considered too large for many NGS applications. Moreover, traditional barcoding primers are known to be poorly conserved across some taxonomic groups.

RESULTS

We first design a new PCR primer within the highly variable mitochondrial COI region, the "mlCOIintF" primer. We then show that this newly designed forward primer combined with the "jgHCO2198" reverse primer to target a 313 bp fragment performs well across metazoan diversity, with higher success rates than versatile primer sets traditionally used for DNA barcoding (i.e. LCO1490/HCO2198). Finally, we demonstrate how the shorter COI fragment coupled with an efficient bioinformatics pipeline can be used to characterize species diversity from environmental samples by pyrosequencing. We examine the gut contents of three species of planktivorous and benthivorous coral reef fish (family: Apogonidae and Holocentridae). After the removal of dubious COI sequences, we obtained a total of 334 prey Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) belonging to 14 phyla from 16 fish guts. Of these, 52.5% matched a reference barcode (>98% sequence similarity) and an additional 32% could be assigned to a higher taxonomic level using Bayesian assignment.

CONCLUSIONS

The molecular analysis of gut contents targeting the 313 COI fragment using the newly designed mlCOIintF primer in combination with the jgHCO2198 primer offers enormous promise for metazoan metabarcoding studies. We believe that this primer set will be a valuable asset for a range of applications from large-scale biodiversity assessments to food web studies.

Efficient newly designed primers for the amplification and sequencing of bird mitochondrial genomes

In the present study, 27 mitochondrial genomes of diverse avian supra-orders were collected from the Genbank database and their genes were aligned separately. From the alignments, the conserved sequences were selected to design novel conserved primers for amplification and sequencing of the different mitochondrial genes. The reproducibility of these primers was tested in the amplification and sequencing of diverse avian supra-order mitochondrial genomes and was confirmed. This method helped in designing a new set of primers to accelerate both the amplification and the sequencing of bird mitogenomes. It also aids in building mitogenome markers in studying the genetic framework of endemic birds as a preliminary strategy for conservation management of them.

PCR primers for metazoan nuclear 18S and 28S ribosomal DNA sequences

Background

Metagenetic analyses, which amplify and sequence target marker DNA regions from environmental samples, are increasingly employed to assess the biodiversity of communities of small organisms. Using this approach, our understanding of microbial diversity has expanded greatly. In contrast, only a few studies using this approach to characterize metazoan diversity have been reported, despite the fact that many metazoan species are small and difficult to identify or are undescribed. One of the reasons for this discrepancy is the availability of universal primers for the target taxa. In microbial studies, analysis of the 16S ribosomal DNA is standard. In contrast, the best gene for metazoan metagenetics is less clear. In the present study, we have designed primers that amplify the nuclear 18S and 28S ribosomal DNA sequences of most metazoan species with the goal of providing effective approaches for metagenetic analyses of metazoan diversity in environmental samples, with a particular emphasis on marine biodiversity.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Conserved regions suitable for designing PCR primers were identified using 14,503 and 1,072 metazoan sequences of the nuclear 18S and 28S rDNA regions, respectively. The sequence similarity of both these newly designed and the previously reported primers to the target regions of these primers were compared for each phylum to determine the expected amplification efficacy. The nucleotide diversity of the flanking regions of the primers was also estimated for genera or higher taxonomic groups of 11 phyla to determine the variable regions within the genes.

Conclusions/Significance

The identified nuclear ribosomal DNA primers (five primer pairs for 18S and eleven for 28S) and the results of the nucleotide diversity analyses provide options for primer combinations for metazoan metagenetic analyses. Additionally, advantages and disadvantages of not only the 18S and 28S ribosomal DNA, but also other marker regions as targets for metazoan metagenetic analyses, are discussed.