Projects: Isolation and molecular identification of picophytoeukaryota from the Argentinean Sea

COVACEVICH F; CUMINO A; SILVA R; NEGRI R; SALERNO G.L

Banyuls-sur-Mer, Francia

Simposio; Simposium Single Cell Analysis; 2005

Institut de Ciències del Mar-CMIMA, CSIC. Barcelona (Spain)/Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls (France)

The aim of this work was to isolate and characterize (by microscopy, flow cytometry and molecular techniques) the biodiversity of the pico- and nanophytoplankton, and to evaluate their seasonal abundance, in the Patagonian (Argentina) shelf break waters. Additionally, novel isolates of picophytoplanktonic organisms will be used in comparative studies on carbon and nitrogen assimilation. DNA ribosomal minilibraries showed that Prasynophyceae class may be dominant during summer and autumn in coastal waters, including a member of clade 7, a new taxonomic group recently described. Eukaryotic organisms belonging to the Dinophyceae, Bolidophyceae and Dictyochophyceae class have been identified from spring samples. We are carrying out DGGE (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis)-basedstudies to provide a more detailed characterization of those microbial communities.