Discrepancies between prokaryotes and eukaryotes need to be considered
in soil DNA-based studies
Abstract
A major fraction of biodiversity on Earth resides in soils. This
diversity consists of prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea) and eukaryotes
(fungi, protists and metazoa). Especially the prokaryotic diversity is
almost entirely studies using molecular tools, with a recent transfer
also to eukaryotes.. Eukaryotes differ from prokaryotes in many
additional characteristics such as genomic organization and mode of
evolution, which together determine the methods to study their
diversity. As such, approaches that have been designed for prokaryotes
like environmental sequencing cannot simply be transferred to
eukaryotes. Indeed, methodological and analytical differences between
domains range from how the basic diversity units are measured to
interpretation of community taxonomic composition and quantitative data.
Jurburg et al. (“All together now: Limitations and recommendations for
the simultaneous analysis of all eukaryotic soil sequences” Molecular
Ecology Methods, 2021 https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.13401) have
highlighted some important eukaryote-specific technical issues that need
consideration into account in DNA-based studies. We here highlight
additional domain-specific considerations that should be taken into
account in eukaryote-focused studies. Only that will allow to reliably
and comprehensively unravel the entire eukaryotic biodiversity in soils.