Metabarcoding of lake benthic diatoms: from structure assemblages to ecological assessment

Benthic diatoms are relevant indicators of the ecological status of the littoral zone of lakes. Their use as bio-indicators is based on their morphological identification at species level using microscopy which is time consuming, requires taxonomic expertise, and is consequently expensive. To overcome these limitations, a molecular approach for diatom identification has been tested with success in rivers. DNA metabarcoding enables species identification from a standardized DNA barcode and high-throughput sequencing (HTS), using DNA reference library. The suitability of the morphological and molecular approaches to assess the diatom community structure and the ecological status of the littoral zone of the largest deep lake in France (Lake Bourget) was compared. 66 sites were sampled in August 2015 along the shoreline, all around the lake. The composition of diatom assemblages was similar with both morphological and molecular approaches, and diatom assemblages were structured by the same environmental factors. However, the ecological status of Lake Bourget differed significantly among approaches since floristic inventories to species level also differed significantly. The main source of this difference was the incompleteness of the DNA reference library. Nevertheless, in a near future, when this constraint will be solved, the use of DNA metabarcoding for biomonitoring purposes seems promising.