CCU

This project relies on samples collected in different deep sea environments (several hundreds to ten thousand metres depth) during scientific expeditions from Ifremer and collaborators (2016-2020) that took place in the framework of the institutional project “Pourquoi Pas les Abysses?” and partners projects (https://wwz.ifremer.fr/Recherche-Technologie/Projets-MERLIN-Pour-la-MER-Lancement-d-Initiatives-Nouvelles/Pourquoi-pas-les-abysses). During those expeditions, standardized environmental samples (sediment, substrate and water) have been collected from about 80 sites around the world to extract environmental DNA (eDNA) and in some cases RNA and provide biodiversity inventories from bacteria to animals. In some ecosystems (hydrothermal vents and deep coral formations) with a better research coverage, some invertebrates were sampled to infer deep-sea connectivity. Overall, a total of about 2500 sediment samples, 300 water samples and 6000 invertebrates were collected, and will be studied using also a diversity of environmental parameters susceptible to influence the distribution of biodiversity. Barcoding and shotgun sequencing will be performed on environmental samples, and RAD Sequencing or RNASeq for invertebrates, some of which will be sequenced to obtain reference genomes.