Does phylogeny explain bias in quantitative DNA metabarcoding?

Estimating species biomass or abundance from the number of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) reads is an aspirational goal for DNA metabarcoding, yet studies have found varied correlations. Performance varies depending on the gene marker and taxonomic group and, in part, may be related to primer-temp...

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Main Authors: Mingxin Liu, Christopher P. Burridge, Laurence J. Clarke, Susan C. Baker, Gregory J. Jordan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Pensoft Publishers 2023-06-01
Series:Metabarcoding and Metagenomics
Online Access:https://mbmg.pensoft.net/article/101266/download/pdf/
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author Mingxin Liu
Christopher P. Burridge
Laurence J. Clarke
Susan C. Baker
Gregory J. Jordan
author_facet Mingxin Liu
Christopher P. Burridge
Laurence J. Clarke
Susan C. Baker
Gregory J. Jordan
author_sort Mingxin Liu
collection DOAJ
description Estimating species biomass or abundance from the number of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) reads is an aspirational goal for DNA metabarcoding, yet studies have found varied correlations. Performance varies depending on the gene marker and taxonomic group and, in part, may be related to primer-template mismatches, which are likely to exhibit phylogenetic signals. In this study, we compared commonly used fragments of two gene markers for beetles, the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and 16S ribosomal RNA (16S), which have similar lengths, but different propensity for primer-template mismatches. We tested whether primer-template mismatches influence the relationship between species biomass and HTS read abundance and whether the effect of mismatches was explained by phylogeny. A significant correlation between species biomass and HTS read abundance existed for 16S, but not for COI, which had more primer-template mismatches. Models incorporating the effects of mismatch type or number improved the estimation of species biomass from HTS read abundance for COI and strong phylogenetic signals were identified. Researchers seeking to quantify biomass from metabarcoding studies should consider the effect of primer-template mismatches for the taxonomic group of interest and, for beetles, 16S appears a good candidate. Phylogenetic correction can also improve biomass estimation when using gene markers with higher primer mismatching.
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spelling doaj.art-74665ffbc21f45f69e1ed1abb766e6482023-06-15T08:11:07ZengPensoft PublishersMetabarcoding and Metagenomics2534-97082023-06-017738810.3897/mbmg.7.101266101266Does phylogeny explain bias in quantitative DNA metabarcoding?Mingxin Liu0Christopher P. Burridge1Laurence J. Clarke2Susan C. Baker3Gregory J. Jordan4University of TasmaniaUniversity of TasmaniaAustralian Antarctic DivisionUniversity of TasmaniaUniversity of TasmaniaEstimating species biomass or abundance from the number of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) reads is an aspirational goal for DNA metabarcoding, yet studies have found varied correlations. Performance varies depending on the gene marker and taxonomic group and, in part, may be related to primer-template mismatches, which are likely to exhibit phylogenetic signals. In this study, we compared commonly used fragments of two gene markers for beetles, the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and 16S ribosomal RNA (16S), which have similar lengths, but different propensity for primer-template mismatches. We tested whether primer-template mismatches influence the relationship between species biomass and HTS read abundance and whether the effect of mismatches was explained by phylogeny. A significant correlation between species biomass and HTS read abundance existed for 16S, but not for COI, which had more primer-template mismatches. Models incorporating the effects of mismatch type or number improved the estimation of species biomass from HTS read abundance for COI and strong phylogenetic signals were identified. Researchers seeking to quantify biomass from metabarcoding studies should consider the effect of primer-template mismatches for the taxonomic group of interest and, for beetles, 16S appears a good candidate. Phylogenetic correction can also improve biomass estimation when using gene markers with higher primer mismatching.https://mbmg.pensoft.net/article/101266/download/pdf/
spellingShingle Mingxin Liu
Christopher P. Burridge
Laurence J. Clarke
Susan C. Baker
Gregory J. Jordan
Does phylogeny explain bias in quantitative DNA metabarcoding?
Metabarcoding and Metagenomics
title Does phylogeny explain bias in quantitative DNA metabarcoding?
title_full Does phylogeny explain bias in quantitative DNA metabarcoding?
title_fullStr Does phylogeny explain bias in quantitative DNA metabarcoding?
title_full_unstemmed Does phylogeny explain bias in quantitative DNA metabarcoding?
title_short Does phylogeny explain bias in quantitative DNA metabarcoding?
title_sort does phylogeny explain bias in quantitative dna metabarcoding
url https://mbmg.pensoft.net/article/101266/download/pdf/
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