Large-scale metabarcoding analysis of epipelagic and mesopelagic copepods in the Pacific

Planktonic copepods are a key group to understand diversity and biogeography of marine organisms. Here, we used metabarcoding approach to reveal large-scale community structure of planktonic copepods in the Pacific. Zooplankton samples were collected at epipelagic (0-200 m) and mesopelagic (200-500 and 500-1,000 m) layers using a Vertical Multiple Plankton Sampler (VMPS) across the Pacific during 2011-2017. All samples were preserved in 99% ethanol, and the community DNA was extracted from each bulk sample in laboratory. The 28S D2 region was amplified by PCR, and massive sequence data of 28S D2 region were obtained using Illumina MiSeq. Because samples cover large geographical areas from tropical to polar regions, patterns of diversity and biogeography of planktonic copepods can be uncovered based on the massive sequence data.