Search

Prokaryotic abundance, activity and community composition were studied in the euphotic, intermediate and deep waters off the Galician coast (NW Iberian margin) in relation to the optical characterization of dissolved organic matter (DOM). Microbial (archaeal and bacterial) community structure was vertically stratified. Among the Archaea, Euryarchaeota, especially Thermoplasmata, was dominant in the intermediate waters and decreased with depth, whereas marine Thaumarchaeota, especially Marine Group I, was the most abundant archaeal phylum in the deeper layers. The bacterial community was dominated by Proteobacteria through the whole water column. However, Cyanobacteria and Bacteroidetes occurrence was considerable in the upper layer and SAR202 was dominant in deep waters. Microbial composition and abundance were not shaped by the quantity of dissolved organic carbon, but instead they revealed a strong connection with the DOM quality. Archaeal communities were mainly related to the fluorescence of DOM (which indicates respiration of labile DOM and generation of refractory subproducts), while bacterial communities were mainly linked to the aromaticity/age of the DOM produced along the water column. Taken together, our results indicate that the microbial community composition is associated with the DOM composition of the water masses, suggesting that distinct microbial taxa have the potential to use and/or produce specific DOM compounds., (© FEMS 2016. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

The composition of prokaryotic communities was determined in the meso- and bathypelagic waters funneled through the Romanche Fracture Zone (RFZ, 2°7'S, 31°79'W to 0°6'N, 14°33'W) in the tropical Atlantic. Distinct water masses were identified based on their physical and chemical characteristics. The bacterial and archaeal communities were depth-stratified with a total of 116 and 25 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), respectively, distributed among the distinct water masses as revealed by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism, and cloning and sequencing. The relative abundance of Thaumarchaeota, determined by catalyzed reporter deposition-fluorescence in situ hybridization, was significantly higher in deeper layers (Antarctic Bottom Water, AABW, > 4000 m depth), contributing up to 31% to the total prokaryotic community, than in the mesopelagic and lower euphotic layer. Although the contribution of SAR11 to bacterial abundance did not increase with depth, SAR202, SAR324, SAR406 and Alteromonas did increase with depth. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis revealed successional changes in the bacterial and archaeal community composition of the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) with a passage time through the RFZ of c. 4 months but not in the under- and overlying water masses. Our results indicate that specific water masses harbor distinct bacterial and archaeal communities and that the prokaryotic community of the NADW undergoes successional changes in this conduit between the western and eastern Atlantic basin. Apparently, in the absence of major input of organic matter to specific deep-water masses, the indigenous prokaryotic community adapts to subtle physical and biogeochemical changes in the water mass within a time frame of weeks, similar to the reported seasonal changes in surface water prokaryotic communities., (© 2013 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Recently, evidence suggests that dark CO2 fixation in the pelagic realm of the ocean does not only occur in the suboxic and anoxic water bodies but also in the oxygenated meso- and bathypelagic waters of the North Atlantic. To elucidate the significance and phylogeny of the key organisms mediating dark CO2 fixation in the tropical Atlantic, we quantified functional genes indicative for CO2 fixation. We used a Q-PCR-based assay targeting the bifunctional acetyl-CoA/propionyl-CoA carboxylase (accA subunit), a key enzyme powering inter alia the 3-hydroxypropionate/4-hydroxybutyrate cycle (HP/HB) and the archaeal ammonia monooxygenase (amoA). Quantification of accA-like genes revealed a consistent depth profile in the upper mesopelagial with increasing gene abundances from subsurface layers towards the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ), coinciding with an increase in archaeal amoA gene abundance. Gene abundance profiles of metabolic marker genes (accA, amoA) were correlated with thaumarchaeal 16S rRNA gene abundances as well as CO2 fixation rates to link the genetic potential to actual rate measurements. AccA gene abundances correlated with archaeal amoA gene abundance throughout the water column (r(2)  = 0.309, P < 0.0001). Overall, a substantial genetic predisposition of CO2 fixation was present in the dark realm of the tropical Atlantic in both Archaea and Bacteria. Hence, dark ocean CO2 fixation might be more widespread among prokaryotes inhabiting the oxygenated water column of the ocean's interior than hitherto assumed., (© 2013 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The coastal North Sea is characterized by strong seasonal dynamics in abiotic and biotic variables. Hence, pronounced temporal changes in the bacterioplankton community composition can be expected. Catalyzed reporter deposition fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis showed a seasonal succession, with Alphaproteobacteria dominating before the spring phytoplankton bloom, Bacteroidetes increasing during the bloom (up to 60% of the prokaryotic community) and being replaced by Gammaproteobacteria during the postbloom period (on average 30% of prokaryotic cells). Daily changes in similarity of the bacterioplankton community assessed by Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism averaged 0.08 day(-1) (Whittaker similarity index) for the free-living bacterial community, resulting in a decreasing similarity between samples with increasing time up to approximately 150 days. After about 150 days, the community composition became increasingly similar to the initial composition. Changes in the bacterial community showed periods of fairly stable composition, interrupted by periods of rapid changes. Taken together, our results support the notion of a recurring bacterioplankton community in the coastal North Sea and indicate a tight coupling between the resources, the bacterial community metabolism, physiological structure and community composition throughout the seasonal cycle in the coastal North Sea., (© 2012 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.)