Diversity and community structure of eukaryotic microalgae in surface sediments in the central Bohai Sea, China, based on a metabarcoding approach

Sediment samples were collected at 17 stations in the central Bohai Sea, China, and the diversity and community structure of eukaryotic microalgae were assessed by metabarcoding the V4 region of 18S rDNA. A total of 930 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were detected for microeukaryotes, including 98 algal OTUs. The algal communities comprised 42 genera belonging to 19 classes of six phyla, and they were dominated by chrysophytes and dinoflagellates. Dinoflagellates were also the most diverse microalgal group. The nano-sized dinoflagellates Biecheleria halophila and Azadinium trinitatum occurred abundantly in the study area; however, they have not been reported previously, as they may be overlooked or misidentified in light microscopy. Many pico-sized chlorophytes were detected in the sediment samples. Sixteen of the detected OTUs were assigned to potentially harmful and/or bloom-forming microalgae, suggesting some potential risks of harmful algal blooms in the central Bohai Sea. The capacity of metabarcoding to detect morphologically cryptic and small species makes this method a sufficiently sensitive means of detection for assessing eukaryotic microalgae in sediments.