We are pleased to announce that after a long pandemic break, our WP1 team participated in the BIOSCAN NOReDNA international conference, which took place from 9-11.10.2022 in Trondheim (Norway).
Two posters were presented at the meeting.
Poster 1
Team: Baranowska M (presenter)/ Baranowska M, Krawczyk D, Janik-Superson K, Królikowska K, Seweryn M, Lach J, Tończyk G, Desiderato A, Taugbøl A, Strapagiel D, Bącela-Spychalska K.
Poster title: Assessment of biodiversity in 20 Norwegian ponds in the context of urbanisation
Abstract:
According to the Living Planet Report, ca 60% of animal species populations have declined as a result of human activity in the past four decades. Urbanization induces the loss of natural habitats and opens a gate for invasive species. Ponds are freshwater habitats that exist in both urban and non-urban landscapes, often found to be biodiversity hotspots of many rare and endangered species. As ponds typically are not monitored systematically, knowledge about overall pond biodiversity still remains poor. Here, we will present the results of the diversity of 20 Norway ponds (including bacteria, fungi and invertebrates) based on eDNA and assess the impact of urbanization in Oslo and Trondheim. Pond water was sampled and filtered from urban and rural ponds in Oslo and Trondheim areas. DNA libraries were prepared using PCR- based amplification of the different regions depending on organism identification (16S rRNA for bacteria, LSU rRNA for fungi, COI for invertebrates). Sequencing was performed on the Illumina MiSeq platform rendering 2 x 250 bp paired-end sequences. Ponds were described as urban or rural based on distance from metropolia and human modification level (QGIS) and several factors describing water chemistry were measured when sampling. The level of significance for the difference between the Shannon index in urban vs rural locations is: p=0.016 (invertebrates, COI) for Oslo and p=0.043 (fungi, LSU) for Trondheim. For both, higher biodiversity was observed in rural areas. At the same time for the Jaccard dissimilarity index we have p<0,05, for: bacteria and invertebrates in Oslo and fungi in Oslo and Trondheim. We further used the ANCOM model to determine taxa separating urban and rural areas. These results showed that in Oslo, which is a more urbanised city, the differences in biodiversity between urban and rural ponds are more significant than in Trondheim, especially if we consider beta-diversity for all studied taxa.
Poster 2
- Place: BIOSCAN NOReDNA Conference, 9-11.10.2022, Trondheim, Norway
Team: dr Katarzyna Janik-Superson (prezenterka) / Janik-Superson K, Krawczyk D, Baranowska M, Tończyk G, Lach J, Seweryn M, Królikowska K, Strapagiel D, Bącela-Spychalska K.
Title: Optimisation of the ponds eDNA procedures for research prokaryotes and eukaryotes biodiversity
Abstract:
Ponds are anthropopressure-sensitive freshwaters serving as biodiversity hotspots, especially for urban areas 1,2 . One of the non-invasive ways to study the pond's biodiversity is eDNA metabarcoding. It especially works for rare endemic species, invasive species early in their settlement, and short lived species. The aim of this study was to optimize the method of water filtering and filter preservation, which will allow for the most in-depth analysis of the biodiversity of the two (urban and rural) ponds located in Poland. The water was sampled all around the ponds from 20 cm and 80 cm depth, then it was filtered through filters with a pore- size 2.0, then 0.45 and finally through 0.22 μm. Filters were preserved in three different preservatives: 96% ethanol, ATL, and RNA-later. We compared the biodiversity data across depths, filter porosities and conservatives. At the same time, macrozoobenthos samples were taken NGS libraries were prepared using PCR-based amplification of the different minibarcodes for bacteria (16S rRNA), fungi (LSU), vertebrates (16S rRNA), invertebrates
(COI) and all eukaryotes (18S rRNA). Results on genetic and species diversity across depths and filter porosities differ at the alpha-diversity level depending on the analyzed taxonomic group. The greatest biodiversity was detected on 2.0 μm filters, but on each filter pore size we detected some unique taxa, undetected on the other filters. Therefore, while aiming at total biodiversity study, all three pore size filters should be used (specifically for bacteria). However, for the studies focusing on the vertebrates, invertebrates and fungi 2.0 μm filter seems to catch the significant majority of studied taxa. We did not note any differences in the efficiency of conservation of genetic biodiversity between preservatives. Not all invertebrates identified in macrozoobenthos samples were detected with NGS and vice versa, so it is recommended to add a metabarcoding of bulk samples as already suggested.
The whole brochure can be found here: https://norbol.org/bioscan2022/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/NOReDNA-2022-Abstracts-compiled.pdf