A dataset on cox1 sequences of limno-terrestrial rotifers

The dataset provides sequences of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (cox1) of rotifers (Rotifera) isolated from limno-terrestrial habitats: moss, lichens, leaf and mixed litter, soil, and other periodically moistened substrates.
Samples were collected across continental Europe (Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Montenegro, Ukraine), Great Britain, Madeira, Turkey, Mediterranean islands (Mallorca, Malta, Pantelleria, Sardinia), the European Arctic (Iceland, Svalbard and Jan Mayen), and Greenland, representing a latitudinal gradient with approximately the same number of samples from each 5-degree zone: N 30-35; N 35-40; N 40-45; N 45-50; N 50-55; N 55-60; N 60-65; N 65-70; N 70-75; N 75-80.
All rotifers, along with other microscopic organisms of similar size, were isolated from the samples by washing with running water through a system of metal sieves, followed by flotation and centrifugation in a sugar solution. DNA was extracted using standard Qiagen DNeasy Blood & Tissue Kits. PCR of cox1 gene was performed using BcdF01 and BcdR04 pair of primers (modified version of Folmer's primers described in Folmer et al. 1994). The amplified fragments were sequenced used Oxford Nanopore technology.

The dataset includes:
- An Excel file (“Sample list.xlsx”) containing sample IDs, collection sites (country or region), and their geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude);
- A ZIP archive with FASTA files of the sequences, where samples with all rotifer sequences are stored as separate files. The FASTA filenames correspond to the sample IDs.

The dataset was created under the ROTISFERA project: “Global patterns of microinvertebrate distribution: Does diversity decrease poleward in rotifers (Rotifera, Bdelloidea)?” NDICI-GEO-NEAR/2022/434-092-0068 (funded by the EU).

References:
Folmer, O., M. Black, W. Hoeh, R. Lutz & R. C. Vrijenhoek, 1994. DNA primers for amplifcation of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I from diverse metazoan invertebrates. Molecular Marine Biology and Biotechnology 3: 294–299.