Metacommunity analysis of Norwegian seaweed turf samples using whole genome sequencing

Funded by the Norwegian Taxonomic Initiative, this BioProject seeks to infer biota associated with seaweed turf samples collected in Tjongspollen fjord, south of Bergen, Norway (August 8-12, 2022). Rather than employing a traditional metabarcoding approach (amplifying barcode markers), the project seeks to pioneer methods leveraging whole genome datasets to detect species from complex environmental samples by mining DNA barcode reads. The turf samples typically consist of a single species with heavy epi-endo biotic loads, but also represent multi-species formations growing close to the substrate. Read datasets will also be used to assembly mitochondrial and plastid genomes, where possible.