Abstract
The foraminiferal environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding based on high-throughput sequencing (HTS) is a powerful tool to unravel the hidden genetic diversity and environmental lineages. Results from the eDNA approach provided valuable insight into an unplumbed diversity of soft-bodied monothalamous foraminifers [1]. Micropaleontologists overlooked monothalamids due to their soft organic and/or finely agglutinated test, which often gets destroyed during routine morphological investigations [2]. On the other hand, some foraminifera taxonomists or studies included monothalamids (soft-shelled species) in ecological and diversity investigations ranging from deep-sea locations to coastal marine habitats [1], [3], [4]. Here, we document our metabarcoding analysis of foraminiferal diversity and abundance from the mining-affected estuaries of the Indian state of Goa. High-throughput sequencing using the Illumina platform indicated the overwhelming abundance of monothalamous foraminifers in the studied estuarine sediments. For the first time, such detailed data of the foraminiferal diversity utilizing sedimentary environmental DNA (eDNA) methods was carried out in India. The raw sequence data used for analysis is available in NCBI under the Sequence Read Archive (SRA) with the BioProjects and SRA accession number: PRJNA1040471. The presented data may be used as baseline information for eDNA-based biomonitoring and biodiversity assessment surveys from Indian marine habitats across time and space.