eDNA metabarcoding reveals biodiversity and depth stratification patterns of dinoflagellate assemblages within the epipelagic zone of the western Coral Sea.

Background: Dinoflagellates play critical roles in the functioning of marine ecosystems but also may pose a hazard to human and ecosystem health by causing harmful algal blooms (HABs). The Coral Sea is a biodiversity hotspot, but its dinoflagellate assemblages in pelagic waters have not been studied by modern sequencing methods. We used metabarcoding of the 18 S rRNA V4 amplicon to assess the diversity and structure of dinoflagellate assemblages throughout the water column to a depth of 150 m at three stations in the Western Coral Sea.

Bacterial Form II Rubisco can support wild-type growth and productivity in cv. Desiree (potato) under elevated CO.

The last decade has seen significant advances in the development of approaches for improving both the light harvesting and carbon fixation pathways of photosynthesis by nuclear transformation, many involving multigene synthetic biology approaches. As efforts to replicate these accomplishments from tobacco into crops gather momentum, similar diversification is needed in the range of transgenic options available, including capabilities to modify crop photosynthesis by chloroplast transformation. To address this need, here we describe the first transplastomic modification of photosynthesis in a crop by replacing the native Rubisco in potato with the faster, but lower CO-affinity and poorer CO/O specificity Rubisco from the bacterium .

Diversity of dinoflagellate assemblages in coastal temperate and offshore tropical waters of Australia.

Background: Dinoflagellates are a ubiquitous and ecologically important component of marine phytoplankton communities, with particularly notable species including those associated with harmful algal blooms (HABs) and those that bioluminesce. High-throughput sequencing offers a novel approach compared to traditional microscopy for determining species assemblages and distributions of dinoflagellates, which are poorly known especially in Australian waters.

Results: We assessed the composition of dinoflagellate assemblages in two Australian locations: coastal temperate Port Phillip Bay and offshore tropical waters of Davies Reef (Great Barrier Reef).