Foraminiferal ancient DNA from the Ross Sea, Antarctica

Foraminifera are important marine environmental indicators widely used in paleoceanography and paleoclimate studies. They are a dominant component of meiobenthic communities around the Antarctic continental shelf, including rarely studied locations below the ice shelves, close to the grounding line. In this study, we use high-throughput sequencing of sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) targeting foraminifera with two molecular markers, including the ultra-short one newly designed for this study, in five cores from the western Ross Sea, containing sediments up to thirty thousand years old. No foraminiferal DNA is detected in the tills, suggesting a lack of preservation of sedaDNA during glacially induced sediment reworking and transport. We reconstruct diverse foraminiferal communities in the open marine settings and significantly less diverse communities in sediments from the slopes of the grounding zone wedges, deposited proximal to the grounding line. Both assemblages are rich in soft-walled monothalamids not preserved in the fossil record and complement the results of earlier micropaleontological studies, allowing a more complete reconstruction of past biodiversity. The newly designed mini-barcode provides higher foraminiferal diversity in surface and subsurface samples than the standard barcode and allows better differentiation between foraminiferal communities in different sediment types. It appears to have great potential for future paleoenvironmental studies, although its taxonomic resolution needs to be evaluated.