Vertical structure of small eukaryotes in three lakes that differ by their trophic status: a quantitative approach.

In lakes, the diversity of eukaryotic picoplankton has been recently studied by the analysis of 18S ribosomal RNA gene sequences; however, quantitative data are rare. In this study, the vertical structure and abundance of the small eukaryotic size fraction (0.2-5 μm) were investigated in three lakes by tyramide signal amplification-fluorescent in situ hybridization targeting six phylogenetic groups: Chlorophyta, Haptophyta, Cercozoa, LKM11, Perkinsozoa and fungi.