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Application of eDNA metabarcoding for assessment of the eukaryotic diversity of three hypersaline lakes in the Trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh
Summary
This study used environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding to characterize the diversity of microscopic eukaryotic organisms in high-altitude saline lakes in Ladakh, India. While not directly about microplastics, eDNA methods are increasingly applied to detect the biological communities associated with plastic pollution in remote aquatic environments.
Abstract Oligotrophic, high-mountain saline lakes possess a diverse eukaryotic taxon and are among the most productive ecosystems in the world.However, observational limitations of micro eukaryotes owing to their small size, color and squishy anatomy have hindered their estimation. The present work involves the study of the composition and diversity of lower eukaryotes in the three most prominent and famous hypersaline lakes situated in the Trans -Himalayan region of Ladakh in the Tibetan plateau. Illumina sequencing of V4 region of 18S rRNA gene revealed the presence of approximately. 270 eukaryotic Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) in the samples. The top ten Phyla included Ciliophora, Cercozoa, Bacillariophyta, Arthropoda, Gastrotricha, Platyhelminthes, Nematoda, Apicomplexa, Rotifera and Tubulinea. Various species of Nitzschia that are cold-tolerant, psychrophilic and alkaliphilic were detected in the samples. ICPMS analysis of the water samples showed high concentrations of Na, Mg, K and Ca in all the lakes. This study is the first attempt involving the use of non-invasive eDNA based analysis of eukaryotic diversity in hypersaline lakes of the Ladakh region. The outcome of this study will augment the present literature/ database of eukaryotic biodiversity in the lakes under study, thereby creating a reference database for future studies.
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