Prokaryotic niche partitioning between suspended and sinking marine particles
2018
Suspended
particlesare major organic carbon substrates for heterotrophic microorganisms in the mesopelagic ocean (100–1000 m). Nonetheless, communities associated with these
particleshave been overlooked compared with sinking
particles, the latter generally considered as main carbon transporters to the deep ocean. This study is the first to differentiate
prokaryoticcommunities associated with suspended and sinking
particles, collected with a
marine snowcatcher at four environmentally distinct stations in the
ScotiaSea. Amplicon sequencing of 16S rRNA gene revealed distinct
prokaryoticcommunities associated with the two
particle‐types in the mixed‐layer (0–100 m) and upper‐
mesopelagic zone(mean dissimilarity 42.5% ± 15.2%). Although common
remineralisingtaxa were present within both
particle‐types, gammaproteobacterial
Pseudomonadalesand
Vibrionales, and alphaproteobacterial
Rhodobacteraleswere found enriched in sinking
particlesup to 32‐fold, while
Flavobacteriales(
Bacteroidetes) favoured suspended
particles. We propose that this niche‐partitioning may be driven by organic matter properties found within both
particle‐types: K‐
strategists, specialised in the degradation of complex organic compounds, thrived on semi‐labile suspended
particles, while generalists r‐
strategistswere adapted to the transient labile organic contents of sinking
particles. Differences between the two
particle‐associated communities were more pronounced in the mesopelagic than in the surface ocean, likely resulting from exchanges between
particle‐pools enabled by the stronger turbulence.
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