The productivity and health of seagrass depend on the combined inputs of nutrients from the water and sediments in which they grow and the microbiota with which they live intimately.However,little is known about the composition and diversity pattern of single-celled benthic eukaryotes in seagrass meadows.Here,we investigated how the structure and diversity of the benthic microeukaryotic community vary with respect to season,location,and seagrass colonization,by applying 18S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing for 96 surface sediment samples that were collected from three different seagrass habitats through four seasons.We found that benthic microeukaryotic communities associated with seagrass Zostera japonica exhibited remarkable spatial and seasonal variations,as well as differences between vegetated and unvegetated sediments.Diatoms and dinoflagellates predominated in the benthic microeukaryotic communities,but they were inversely correlated and displaced each other as the dominant microbial group in different seasons or habitats.Mucoromycota was more prevalent in vegetated sediments,whereas Lobulomycetales and Chytridiales had higher proportions in unvegetated sites.Total organic carbon and total organic nitrogen were the most important environmental factors in driving the microeukaryotic assemblages and diversity.Our study expands the available knowledge on the biogeographic distribution patterns and niche preferences for benthic microeukaryotes in seagrass systems.

Pengyuan Liu;Haikun Zhang;Yanyu Sun;Caixia Wang;Xiaoke Hu

Key Laboratory of Coastal Biology and Bioresource Utilization,Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Yantai 264003,China;Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology,Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology(Qingdao),Qingdao 266237,China;University of Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100049,China;School of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine,Binzhou Medical University,Yantai 264003,China

海洋学报（英文版）

[1]Pengyuan Liu;Haikun Zhang;Yanyu Sun;Caixia Wang;Xiaoke Hu-.Molecular diversity and biogeography of benthic microeuka-ryotes in temperate seagrass(Zostera japonica)systems of northern China)[J].海洋学报（英文版）,2022(11):115-125

microeuka,ryotes,microeukaryotic,unvegetated,Lobulomycetales,Chytridiales

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