Amplicon sequencing of Psb A gene for phytoplankton assemblages in surface sediments in the Tohoku (north-eastern Honshu) coast of Japan

To understand the horizontal distribution of phytoplankton assemblages in the Tohoku (north-eastern Honshu) coast of Japan, we analyzed surface sediments in Kamaishi, Ofunato, and Sendai bays. Samples in Kamaishi, and Ofunato bays were collected in 2018. Samples in Sendai Bay were collected in 2014, 2018, and 2019. After DNA was extracted, the Psb A gene were amplified with primers (PsbAyomF1 and PsbAyoR1) using PCR. The PCR product mixtures were analyzed for pair-end DNA sequencing of 300 bp Ã? 2 using MiSeq desktop sequencer (Illumina). The sequenced data were analyzed in the Qiime bioinformatics pipeline.