Powered by OpenAIRE graph

Metagenomic approach for studying picoeukaryotes in a extreme oligotrophic marginal sea (South Adriatic Sea) during winter mixed conditions

Authors: University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science;

Metagenomic approach for studying picoeukaryotes in a extreme oligotrophic marginal sea (South Adriatic Sea) during winter mixed conditions

Abstract

This study investigates this smallest plankton fraction (cells ≤ 3µm) in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic perspective considering changes of the community in the photic zone from coastal to open sea during mixed winter conditions. Using high-throughput sequencing of 16S and 18S rRNA genes along with flow-cytometry counts of bacteria, cyanobacteria and photosynthetic picoeukaryotes (PPEs) we described picoplanktonic community in the oligotrophic ecosystem. With pigment and lipid analyses of picoplankton community, we characterized PPEs and detected specific events in microbial loop. Prokaryotic community was dominated by Alphaproteobacteria, mainly SAR11 clade (44.91%), followed by Gammaproteobacteria (Oceanospirillales and Pseudomonadales, 14.96%), Bacteroidetes, mainly Flavobacteriales (13%), Cyanobacteria (Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus, 9.52%), Marinimicrobia, SAR406 clade (7.97%), Deltaproteobacteria (3.83%), Actinobacteria (2.24%) and Chloroflexi (1.90%). Picoeukaryotes, although the drivers of photosynthetic activity in oligotrophic systems, in this study were dominated by heterotrophic counterparts: Syndiniales, parasitic dinoflagellates (79.67%), other Dinophyta (8.7%) and on two depths Collodaria, family Sphaerozoidae (22.1%) and Polycistinea, Spumellarida (5.0%), while total photoautotrophic fraction of picoeukaryotes were represented with Mamiellophyceae, Stramenopiles, photoautotrophic Cryptophyta and some Haptophyta, together not exceeding 5% of total sequences. Heterotrophic bacteria and cyanobacteria, separated into populations of Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus, had abundances up to 7×105; 2.3×104 and 2.5×104 cells mL-1, respectively. Photoautotrophic picoeukaryotes were most abundant at P600-25m with 3×103 cells mL-1. According to pigment composition, the most prevalent phototrophs in picoplankton were Cyanobacteria and green algae.

Keywords

environmental genomics, Metagenomics

  • BIP!
    Impact byBIP!
    citations
    This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    0
    popularity
    This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
    Average
    influence
    This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    Average
    impulse
    This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
    Average
Powered by OpenAIRE graph
citations
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average