Analysis of the dicyemid diversity using amplicon sequencing

Abstract

Using amplicon sequencing, this study reveals dicyemid diversity around the world as well as within individual cephalopod hosts. A wide number of samples of multiple species were collected to reflect true dicyemid diversity. Heterogeneity primers were designed in order to improve the sequencing performance of the Illumina platform. A complex bioinformatic pipeline was implemented to process non-overlapping reads. The species delimitation methods were used to categorize occurring dicyemid types. Using the output of implemented methods, dicyemid diversity was assessed, proposing new trends opposing the current methodology.