Lee were responsible for the conception and design of the work. Andee Dzulkarnaen, Zaidi Zakaria, Nazri Mustaffa, and Sharifah Emilia Tuan Sharif were involved in sample acquisition and processing. All authors performed the data analysis and interpretation. Yusof Shuaib Ibrahim, Nazri Mustaffa, and Yeong Yeh Lee wrote the manuscript and all authors approved the final version.

No abstract

Marine ecosystems contain an immense diversity of phages, many of which infect the cyanobacteria responsible for a portion of oceanic primary productivity. To add to the growing body of research on the dynamics and diversity of these cyanophages, we measured cyanophage abundance, diversity, and community composition monthly for 15 mo at 3 coastal locations in Southern California, USA. We characterized over 900 individual cyanophages, isolated on Synechococcus sp. WH7803, by amplifying and sequencing 2 different genes from each isolate: g20 (the portal protein gene) and psbA (a host-derived gene involved in photosynthesis). The taxonomic composition and diversity of isolated cyanophages were highly variable over time, with little variation across the 3 locations. Particular taxa dominated the community at distinct times of year, with more rapid turnover of dominant types and higher overall abundance and diversity during spring and summer. These temporal patterns as well as taxonomic designations were highly congruent for both genes, based on operational taxonomic units (OTUs) defined at 99% nucleotide similarity, despite a greater level of amino acid conservation within psbA as compared to g20. Overall, this suggests that either gene can serve as a useful marker for cyanophage diversity. However, we detected 1 myovirus taxon (representing about 2.5% of the isolates) of uncertain phylogenetic affiliation that was negative for psbA amplification. Further sampling is necessary to assess whether these temporal dynamics in cyanophage composition, diversity, and abundance are seasonally recurring.

No abstract

An estuarine species of Nereididae (Annelida), Neanthesglandicincta (Southern, 1921) has been newly recorded on the eastern coast of Peninsular Malaysia located in the South China Sea based on 23 specimens collected from three estuaries (Tumpat, Kelantan Delta, Kelantan; Setiu Lagoon, Terengganu; Kuala Ibai, Terengganu). The morphological characteristics of the Malaysian specimens agree well with those of the previous original description and the redescription of N.glandicincta based on Indian, Myanmar and Singapore specimens. The number of paragnaths in all groups on the proboscis of our Malaysian specimens is within the range of the intraspecific variation of N.glandicincta as shown in the previous descriptions. An identification key to species of the Neanthesglandicincta species complex, which includes two morphologically similar species, is provided.