A Standardized Procedure for Monitoring Harmful Algal Blooms in Chile by Metabarcoding Analysis

Harmful algae blooms (HABs) monitoring has been implemented worldwide, and Chile, a country famous for its fisheries and aquaculture, has intensively used microscopic and toxin analyses for decades for this purpose. Molecular biological methods, such as high-throughput DNA sequencing and bacterial assemblage-based approaches, are just beginning to be introduced in Chilean HAB monitoring, and the procedures have not yet been standardized. Here, 16S rRNA and 18S rRNA metabarcoding analyses for monitoring Chilean HABs are introduced stepwise. According to a recent hypothesis, algal-bacterial mutualistic association plays a critical synergetic or antagonistic relationship accounting for bloom initiation, maintenance, and regression. Thus, monitoring HAB from algal-bacterial perspectives may provide a broader understanding of HAB mechanisms and the basis for early warning. Metabarcoding analysis is one of the best suited molecular-based tools for this purpose because it can detect massive algal-bacterial taxonomic information in a sample. The visual procedures of sampling to metabarcoding analysis herein provide specific instructions, aiming to reduce errors and collection of reliable data.

Automated summary

Chile, famous for its fisheries and aquaculture, has traditionally used microscopic and toxin analyses for HAB monitoring and is now beginning to introduce molecular biological methods. Metabarcoding analysis, specifically 16S rRNA and 18S rRNA, can provide a broader understanding of HAB mechanisms and serve as a basis for early warning systems against harmful algae blooms.