Abstract
Synechococcus are distributed throughout the world's oceans and are composed of diverse genetic lineages. However, as they are much less abundant than Prochlorococcus in oligotrophic open oceans, their in-depth genetic diversity cannot be investigated using commonly used primers targeting both Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus. Thus, in this study, we designed a primer specific to the 16S-23S rRNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of the Synechococcus subcluster 5.1. Using the primer, we could selectively amplify Synechococcus sequences in oligotrophic seawater samples. Further, we showed that a barcoded amplicon pyrosequencing method could be applicable to investigate Synechococcus diversity using sequences retrieved in GenBank and obtained from environmental samples. Allowing sequence analyses of a large number of samples, this high-throughput method would be useful to study global biodiversity and biogeographic patterns of Synechococcus in marine environments.