1. By Pete Kahn Mentors: Lydie Herfort and Peter Zuber
18S rRNA clone library of phytoplankton in the Columbia River and its coastal zone
By Pete Kahn
Mentors: Lydie Herfort and
Peter Zuber

2. Significance of phytoplankton
Major producers:
O2: 90%
CO2=>C3: 50%
Base of aquatic food chain

3. Interactions with other Domains
Bacterioplankton Colonization :
POC=>DOC
Competition for NO32- and NH3?

4. Significance: Why is CMOP interested in Phytoplankton?
Base of aquatic food chain
Major producers: O2: 90%; CO2=>C3: 50%
Interaction with other two Domains
-Crenarchaeota: “competition”
-Bacterioplankton: colonization
-POC=>DOC
Marine Phytoplankton bloom off the coast of Argentina

5. Traditional Methods Microscopy Flow Cytometry Chlorophyll a
Microscopy: Pediastrium
Microscopy
Flow Cytometry
Chlorophyll a
Photosynthesis:
O2 production
C14 uptake
Filtering for chlorophyll a

6. Objectives
18S rRNA clone library for different seasons and different locations: 0 PSU, 30 PSU for spring and summer; compare to winter samples
Compare with Bacteria &
Archaea clone libraries from
Dan Murphy
Identify unexpected changes
Monitor health of ecosystem
Pediastrium

7. Methods Overview Understand Phytoplankton community in estuary
Phylogenetic analysis
Sequence analysis w/ BLAST
Yan, Q. Y., Yu, Y. H. & Feng, W. S. (2006). Genetic fingerprinting of plankton community provides new insights into aquatic ecology. Progress in Natural Science 16,

8. Methods Overview Water sample => Sterivex on site
Total nucleic acid extraction from sterivex in lab
Amplification through PCR

9. Variations in nucleic acid in environmental samples
Oct 2006
Feb 2007
Between seasons
Between locations
April Wecoma & Forerunner: Freshwater << Surface Coastal
DNA
RNA