Environmental Sequencing approaches for benthic microbial eukaryotes

Microbial eukaryotes (e.g. nematodes, fungi, protists, and other 'minor' metazoan phyla) are diverse and abundant in every habitat on earth, yet for most groups we possess scant knowledge of species distributions and global diversity. Benthic meiofaunal taxa often show rapid response to disturbance, and have been touted as ideal organisms for tracking environmental impacts. Using environmental sequencing approaches (rRNA marker gene studies and shotgun metagenomics using 454/Illumina platforms), we now have the ability to deeply characterize marine assemblages of microbial eukaryotes. However, the sheer volume of data produced from new sequencing technologies requires fundamentally different approaches and new paradigms for effective data analysis. This seminar will discuss recent environmental sequencing work in marine environments (Deep-sea and Arctic sediments), including the use of data visualization tools to explore biological patterns in large sequence datasets.

Speaker: Holly Bik, UC Davis