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1.
Mol Ecol Resour ; 24(3): e13923, 2024 Apr.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38189173

ABSTRACT

The permanently anoxic waters in meromictic lakes create suitable niches for the growth of bacteria using sulphur metabolisms like sulphur oxidation. In Lake Pavin, the anoxic water mass hosts an active cryptic sulphur cycle that interacts narrowly with iron cycling, however the metabolisms of the microorganisms involved are poorly known. Here we combined metagenomics, single-cell genomics, and pan-genomics to further expand our understanding of the bacteria and the corresponding metabolisms involved in sulphur oxidation in this ferruginous sulphide- and sulphate-poor meromictic lake. We highlighted two new species within the genus Sulfurimonas that belong to a novel clade of chemotrophic sulphur oxidisers exclusive to freshwaters. We moreover conclude that this genus holds a key-role not only in limiting sulphide accumulation in the upper part of the anoxic layer but also constraining carbon, phosphate and iron cycling.


Subject(s)
Bacteria , Lakes , Iron/metabolism , Sulfides/metabolism , Sulfur/metabolism , Genomics
2.
Environ Microbiol ; 25(12): 3406-3422, 2023 Dec.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37916456

ABSTRACT

The advent of high-throughput sequencing has led to the discovery of a considerable diversity of microbial eukaryotes in aquatic ecosystems, nevertheless, their function and contribution to the trophic food web functioning remain poorly characterized especially in freshwater ecosystems. Based on metabarcoding data obtained from a meromictic lake ecosystem (Pavin, France), we performed a morpho-physio-phenological traits-based approach to infer functional groups of microbial eukaryotes. Metatranscriptomic data were also analysed to assess the metabolic potential of these groups across the diel cycle, size fraction, sampling depth, and periods. Our analysis highlights a huge microbial eukaryotic diversity in the monimolimnion characterized by numerous saprotrophs expressing transcripts related to sulfur and nitrate metabolism as well as dissolved and particulate organic matter degradation. We also describe strong seasonal variations of microbial eukaryotes in the mixolimnion, especially for parasites and mixoplankton. It appears that the water mixing (occurring during spring and autumn) which benefits photosynthetic host communities also promotes parasitic fungi dissemination and over-expression of genes involved in the zoospore phototaxis and stage transition in the parasitic cycle. Mixoplanktonic haptophytes over-expressing photosynthesis-, endocytosis- and phagosome-linked genes under nutrient limitation also suggest that phagotrophy may provide them an advantage over non-phagotrophic phytoplankton.


Subject(s)
Ecosystem , Lakes , Lakes/microbiology , Fungi/genetics , Food Chain , Phytoplankton
3.
Microb Ecol ; 85(4): 1630-1633, 2023 May.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35552794

ABSTRACT

Microsporidia are a large group of obligate intracellular eukaryotic parasites. Recent studies suggest that their diversity can be huge in freshwater lake ecosystems especially in the < 150-µm size fraction. However, little is known about their hosts and therefore their impact on the trophic food web functioning. In this study, single cell analysis and fluorescence microscopy were used to detect new host-parasite association within rotifer communities in lake Aydat (France). Our analysis showed the existence of a potential new species belonging to the Crispospora genus able of infecting the rotifer Kellicottia with a high prevalence (42.5%) suggesting that Microsporidia could have a great impact on the rotifer populations' regulation in lakes.


Subject(s)
Microsporidia , Microsporidia/physiology , Lakes/parasitology , Ecosystem , Food Chain , Single-Cell Analysis
4.
Mol Ecol Resour ; 23(1): 222-232, 2023 Jan.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35941762

ABSTRACT

Freshwater is a critical resource for human survival but severely threatened by anthropogenic activities and climate change. These changes strongly impact the abundance and diversity of the microbial communities which are key players in the functioning of these aquatic ecosystems. Although widely documented since the emergence of high-throughput sequencing approaches, the information on these natural microbial communities is scattered among thousands of publications and it is therefore difficult to investigate the temporal dynamics and the spatial distribution of microbial taxa within or across ecosystems. To fill this gap and in the FAIR principles context we built a manually curated and standardized microbial freshwater -omics database (FreshOmics). Based on recognized ontologies (ENVO, MIMICS, GO, ISO), FreshOmics describes 29 different types of freshwater ecosystems and uses standardized attributes to depict biological samples, sequencing protocols and article attributes for more than 2487 geographical locations across 71 countries around the world. The database contains 24,808 sequence identifiers (i.e., Run_Id / Exp_ID, mainly from SRA/DDBJ SRA/ENA, GSA and MG-RAST repositories) covering all sequence-based -omics approaches used to investigate bacteria, archaea, microbial eukaryotes, and viruses. Therefore, FreshOmics allows accurate and comprehensive analyses of microbial communities to answer questions related to their roles in freshwater ecosystems functioning and resilience, especially through meta-analysis studies. This collection also highlights different sort of errors in published works (e.g., wrong coordinates, sample type, material, spelling).


Subject(s)
Fresh Water , Microbiota , Humans , Microbiota/genetics , Bacteria/genetics , Archaea/genetics , High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
5.
Environ Microbiol ; 24(3): 1672-1686, 2022 03.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35246918

ABSTRACT

Microsporidia are a large group of obligate intracellular eukaryotic parasites related to Fungi. Recent studies suggest that their diversity has been greatly underestimated and little is known about their hosts other than metazoans, and thus about their impact on the communities at the base of the food web. In this work, we therefore studied the diversity of Microsporidia over one year and identified potential new hosts in small-sized fractions (<150 µm) in a lake ecosystem using a metabarcoding approach coupled with co-occurrence networks and tyramide signal amplification-fluorescent in situ hybridization. Our analysis shows a great Microsporidia diversity (1 472 OTUs), with an important part of this diversity being unknown. Temporal variations of this diversity have been observed, which might follow temporal variations of their potential hosts such as protists and microzooplankton. New hosts among them were identified as well as associations with phytoplankton. Indeed, repeated infections were observed in Kellicottia (rotifers) with a prevalence of 38% (infected individuals). Microsporidia inside a Stentor (ciliate) were also observed. Finally, potential infections of the diatom Asterionella were identified (prevalence <0.1%). The microsporidian host spectrum could be therefore even more important than previously described, and their role in the functioning of lake ecosystems is undoubtedly largely unknown.


Subject(s)
Ecosystem , Microsporidia , Eukaryota , Host-Parasite Interactions , Humans , In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence , Lakes , Microsporidia/genetics , Phylogeny
6.
ISME Commun ; 2(1): 64, 2022 Jul 28.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37938283

ABSTRACT

Photosynthetic microbes are omnipresent in land and water. While they critically influence primary productivity in aquatic systems, their importance in terrestrial ecosystems remains largely overlooked. In terrestrial systems, photoautotrophs occur in a variety of habitats, such as sub-surface soils, exposed rocks, and bryophytes. Here, we study photosynthetic microbial communities associated with bryophytes from a boreal peatland and a tropical rainforest. We interrogate their contribution to bryophyte C uptake and identify the main drivers of that contribution. We found that photosynthetic microbes take up twice more C in the boreal peatland (~4.4 mg CO2.h-1.m-2) than in the tropical rainforest (~2.4 mg CO2.h-1.m-2), which corresponded to an average contribution of 4% and 2% of the bryophyte C uptake, respectively. Our findings revealed that such patterns were driven by the proportion of photosynthetic protists in the moss microbiomes. Low moss water content and light conditions were not favourable to the development of photosynthetic protists in the tropical rainforest, which indirectly reduced the overall photosynthetic microbial C uptake. Our investigations clearly show that photosynthetic microbes associated with bryophyte effectively contribute to moss C uptake despite species turnover. Terrestrial photosynthetic microbes clearly have the capacity to take up atmospheric C in bryophytes living under various environmental conditions, and therefore potentially support rates of ecosystem-level net C exchanges with the atmosphere.

7.
Environ Microbiol ; 23(8): 4344-4359, 2021 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34081807

ABSTRACT

Microsporidia are obligate intracellular eukaryotic parasites known to parasitize many species of the animal kingdom as well as some protists. However, their diversity is underestimated, in part as a consequence of the failure of 'universal' primers to detect them in metabarcoding studies. Besides, due to the inconsistency between taxonomy and phylogenetic data, available databases may assign incorrectly sequences obtained with high-throughput sequencing. In this work, we developed a comprehensive reference database which positions microsporidian SSU rRNA gene sequences within a coherent ranked phylogenetic framework. We used this phylogenetic framework to study the microsporidian diversity in lacustrine ecosystems, focusing on < 150 µm planktonic size fractions. Our analysis shows a high diversity of Microsporidia, with the identification of 1531 OTUs distributed within seven clades, of which 76% were affiliated to clade IV2 and 20% to clade I (nomenclature presented hereby). About a quarter of the obtained sequences shared less than 85% identity to the closest known species, which might represent undescribed genera or families infecting small hosts. Variations in the abundance of Microsporidia were recorded between the two lakes sampled and across the sampling period, which might be explained by spatio-temporal variations of their potential hosts such as microeukaryotes and metazooplankton.


Subject(s)
Lakes , Microsporidia , Animals , Ecosystem , Eukaryota , Humans , Microsporidia/genetics , Phylogeny
8.
PeerJ ; 7: e6247, 2019.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30809429

ABSTRACT

High-throughput sequencing has given new insights into aquatic fungal community ecology over the last 10 years. Based on 18S ribosomal RNA gene sequences publicly available, we investigated fungal richness and taxonomic composition among 25 lakes and four rivers. We used a single pipeline to process the reads from raw data to the taxonomic affiliation. In addition, we studied, for a subset of lakes, the active fraction of fungi through the 18S rRNA transcripts level. These results revealed a high diversity of fungi that can be captured by 18S rRNA primers. The most OTU-rich groups were Dikarya (47%), represented by putative filamentous fungi more diverse and abundant in freshwater habitats than previous studies have suggested, followed by Cryptomycota (17.6%) and Chytridiomycota (15.4%). The active fraction of the community showed the same dominant groups as those observed at the 18S rRNA genes level. On average 13.25% of the fungal OTUs were active. The small number of OTUs shared among aquatic ecosystems may result from the low abundances of those microorganisms and/or they constitute allochthonous fungi coming from other habitats (e.g., sediment or catchment areas). The richness estimates suggest that fungi have been overlooked and undersampled in freshwater ecosystems, especially rivers, though they play key roles in ecosystem functioning as saprophytes and parasites.

9.
Environ Microbiol ; 19(6): 2286-2300, 2017 06.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-28276185

ABSTRACT

The diversity and composition of photosynthetic picoeukaryotes (PPEs) in two large shallow lakes in China (Lake Taihu and Lake Chaohu) were investigated from flow cytometry sorted samples using Miseq high-throughput sequencing. We collected 65 samples covering different regions of the two lakes over four seasons to unveil spatial and temporal patterns of PPEs community composition. The use of flow cytometry sorting largely improved the efficiency of detecting PPEs sequences and over 70% of the retrieved reads belonged to PPEs. Chlorophyta and Bacillariophyta dominated PPEs in most of the samples. A distinct but complex seasonality of PPEs composition emerged at the OTUs level. NGS-based Miseq sequencing facilitates an in-depth view of numerous rare OTUs. Nearly 80% of the PPEs OTUs were rare and lots of them were detected only in one season, whereas most of the abundant OTUs were frequently detected in all seasons but only changed in relative abundances. Besides, a close relative of the marine PPEs species Ostreococcus sp. (OTU_1144, 99% identity) was discovered in freshwater systems for the first time and was abundant especially in winter. The diversity and community composition of PPEs were more dependent on season rather than sampling sites. Temperature, phycocyanin and NO3 N concentrations in Lake Taihu explained the PPE composition variations, whereas in Lake Chaohu TN/TP ratios, temperature, pH and nephelometric turbidity units (NTU) seemed to be the most important factors. In addition, a great number of OTUs belong to nonpigmented picoeukaryotes, especially Chytridiomycota, Perkinsozoa, Ciliophora and Cercozoa, which are known to include algae parasites as well as predators. The results of mantel test also showed that the community of photosynthetic and nonpigmented picoeukaryotes were significantly correlated in both lakes.


Subject(s)
Chlorophyta/classification , Diatoms/classification , Lakes/chemistry , Lakes/parasitology , China , Chlorophyta/physiology , Diatoms/physiology , Flow Cytometry , Nitrates/analysis , Photosynthesis/physiology , Phycocyanin/analysis , Seasons , Temperature
10.
FEMS Microbiol Ecol ; 93(4)2017 04 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-28334157

ABSTRACT

Although they are widespread, diverse and involved in biogeochemical cycles, microbial eukaryotes attract less attention than their prokaryotic counterparts in environmental microbiology. In this study, we used publicly available 18S barcoding data to define biases that may limit such analyses and to gain an overview of the planktonic microbial eukaryotic diversity in freshwater ecosystems. The richness of the microbial eukaryotes was estimated to 100 798 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) delineating 1267 clusters or phylogenetic units (PUs, i.e. monophyletic groups of OTUs that are phylogenetically close). By summing the richness found in aquatic environments, we can predict the microbial eukaryotic richness to be around 200 000-250 000 species. The molecular diversity of protists in freshwater environments is generally higher than that of the morphospecies and cultivated species catalogued in public databases. Amoebozoa, Viridiplantae, Ichthyosporea, and Cryptophyta are the most phylogenetically diverse taxa, and characterisation of these groups is still needed. A network analysis showed that Fungi, Stramenopiles and Viridiplantae play central role in lake ecosystems. Finally, this work provides guidance for compiling metabarcoding data and identifies missing data that should be obtained to increase our knowledge on microbial eukaryote diversity.


Subject(s)
Eukaryota/classification , Plankton/classification , Cryptophyta/classification , Ecosystem , Fungi/classification , Lakes/microbiology , Phylogeny , Stramenopiles/classification
11.
Front Microbiol ; 7: 234, 2016.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-27014192

ABSTRACT

Distinct distribution patterns of members of the major bacterial clades SAR11, SAR86, and Actinobacteria were observed across a transect from the Marquesas islands through the ultra-oligotrophic South Pacific Gyre into the Chilean upwelling using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and RNA-DNA fingerprinting. Three different Actinobacteria sequence clusters belonging to "Candidatus Actinomarinidae" were localized in the western half of the transect, one was limited to the gyre deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM) and sequences affiliated to the OCS155 clade were unique to the upwelling. The structure of the surface bacterial community was highly correlated with water mass and remained similar across the whole central gyre (1300 nautical miles). The surface hyperoligotrophic gyre was dominated (>70% of all sequences) by highly diverse SAR11 and SAR86 operational taxonomic units and these communities were significantly different from those in the DCM. Analysis of 16S rRNA fingerprints generated from RNA allowed insights into the potential activity of assigned bacterial groups. SAR11 and Prochlorococcus showed the highest potential activity in all water masses except for the upwelling, accounting together for 65% of the total bacterial 16S rRNA in the gyre surface waters in equal proportions whereas the contribution of SAR11 decreased significantly at the DCM.

12.
Front Microbiol ; 7: 130, 2016.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-26904006

ABSTRACT

Microbial eukaryotes play a crucial role in ecosystem functioning and oxygen is considered to be one of the strongest barriers against their local dispersal. However, diversity of microbial eukaryotes in freshwater habitats with oxygen gradients has previously received very little attention. We applied high-throughput sequencing (V4 region of the 18S rRNA gene) in conjunction with quantitative PCR (DNA and RNA) and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) analyses, to provide an unique spatio-temporal analysis of microbial eukaryotes diversity and potential activity in a meromictic freshwater lake (lake Pavin). This study revealed a high genetic diversity of unicellular eukaryotes in the permanent anoxic zone of lake Pavin and allowed the discrimination of active vs. inactive components. Forty-two percent of the OTUs (Operational Taxonomic Units) are exclusively present in the monimolimnion, where Alveolata (Ciliophora and Dinophyceae) and Fungi (Dikarya and Chytrids) are the most active phyla and are probably represented by species capable of anaerobic metabolism. Pigmented eukaryotes (Haptophyceae and Chlorophyceae) are also present and active in this zone, which opens up questions regarding their metabolism.

13.
Environ Microbiol Rep ; 8(4): 445-51, 2016 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-26420747

ABSTRACT

Photosynthetic picoeukaryotes (PPEs) are important components of the marine picophytoplankton community playing a critical role in CO2 fixation but also as bacterivores, particularly in the oligotrophic gyres. Despite an increased interest in these organisms and an improved understanding of the genetic diversity of this group, we still know little of the environmental factors controlling the abundance of these organisms. Here, we investigated the quantitative importance of eukaryotic parasites in the free-living fraction as well as in associations with PPEs along a transect in the South Atlantic. Using tyramide signal amplification-fluorescence in situ hybridization (TSA-FISH), we provide quantitative evidence of the occurrence of free-living fungi in open ocean marine systems, while the Perkinsozoa and Syndiniales parasites were not abundant in these waters. Using flow cytometric cell sorting of different PPE populations followed by a dual-labelled TSA-FISH approach, we also demonstrate fungal associations, potentially parasitic, occurring with both pico-Prymnesiophyceae and pico-Chrysophyceae. These data highlight the necessity for further work investigating the specific role of marine fungi as parasites of phytoplankton to improve understanding of carbon flow in marine ecosystems.


Subject(s)
Alveolata/isolation & purification , Biodiversity , Fungi/isolation & purification , Host-Parasite Interactions , Phytoplankton/microbiology , Phytoplankton/parasitology , Alveolata/genetics , Atlantic Ocean , Flow Cytometry , Fungi/genetics , In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence
14.
Environ Microbiol Rep ; 5(6): 835-40, 2013 Dec.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-24249292

ABSTRACT

Heterotrophic bacterioplankton, cyanobacteria and phototrophic picoeukaryotes (< 5 µm in size) numerically dominate planktonic oceanic communities. While feeding on bacterioplankton is often attributed to aplastidic protists, recent evidence suggests that phototrophic picoeukaryotes could be important bacterivores. Here, we present direct visual evidence from the surface mixed layer of the Atlantic Ocean that bacterioplankton are internalized by phototrophic picoeukaryotes. In situ interactions of phototrophic picoeukaryotes and bacterioplankton (specifically Prochlorococcus cyanobacteria and the SAR11 clade) were investigated using a combination of flow cytometric cell sorting and dual tyramide signal amplification fluorescence in situ hybridization. Using this method, we observed plastidic Prymnesiophyceae and Chrysophyceae cells containing Prochlorococcus, and to a lesser extent SAR11 cells. These microscopic observations of in situ microbial trophic interactions demonstrate the frequency and likely selectivity of phototrophic picoeukaryote bacterivory in the surface mixed layer of both the North and South Atlantic subtropical gyres and adjacent equatorial region, broadening our views on the ecological role of the smallest oceanic plastidic protists.


Subject(s)
Chrysophyta/microbiology , Haptophyta/microbiology , Plankton/microbiology , Prochlorococcus , Aquatic Organisms , Atlantic Ocean , Ecosystem , In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence , Plankton/metabolism , Seawater/microbiology
15.
FEMS Microbiol Ecol ; 85(1): 85-94, 2013 Jul.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-23448250

ABSTRACT

Understanding the spatial distribution of aquatic microbial diversity and the underlying mechanisms causing differences in community composition is a challenging and central goal for ecologists. Recent insights into protistan diversity and ecology are increasing the debate over their spatial distribution. In this study, we investigate the importance of spatial and environmental factors in shaping the small protists community structure in lakes. We analyzed small protists community composition (beta-diversity) and richness (alpha-diversity) at regional scale by different molecular methods targeting the gene coding for 18S rRNA gene (T-RFLP and 454 pyrosequencing). Our results show a distance-decay pattern for rare and dominant taxa and the spatial distribution of the latter followed the prediction of the island biogeography theory. Furthermore, geographic distances between lakes seem to be the main force shaping the protists community composition in the lakes studied here. Finally, the spatial distribution of protists was discussed at the global scale (11 worldwide distributed lakes) by comparing these results with those present in the public database. UniFrac analysis showed 18S rRNA gene OTUs compositions significantly different among most of lakes, and this difference does not seem to be related to the trophic status.


Subject(s)
Ecosystem , Eukaryota/classification , Lakes , Eukaryota/genetics , Eukaryota/isolation & purification , RNA, Ribosomal, 18S/genetics
16.
ISME J ; 7(5): 922-36, 2013 May.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-23364354

ABSTRACT

A central goal in ecology is to understand the factors affecting the temporal dynamics and spatial distribution of microorganisms and the underlying processes causing differences in community structure and composition. However, little is known in this respect for photosynthetic picoeukaryotes (PPEs), algae that are now recognised as major players in marine CO2 fixation. Here, we analysed dot blot hybridisation and cloning-sequencing data, using the plastid-encoded 16S rRNA gene, from seven research cruises that encompassed all four ocean biomes. We provide insights into global abundance, α- and ß-diversity distribution and the environmental factors shaping PPE community structure and composition. At the class level, the most commonly encountered PPEs were Prymnesiophyceae and Chrysophyceae. These taxa displayed complementary distribution patterns, with peak abundances of Prymnesiophyceae and Chrysophyceae in waters of high (25:1) or low (12:1) nitrogen:phosphorus (N:P) ratio, respectively. Significant differences in phylogenetic composition of PPEs were demonstrated for higher taxonomic levels between ocean basins, using Unifrac analyses of clone library sequence data. Differences in composition were generally greater between basins (interbasins) than within a basin (intrabasin). These differences were primarily linked to taxonomic variation in the composition of Prymnesiophyceae and Prasinophyceae whereas Chrysophyceae were phylogenetically similar in all libraries. These data provide better knowledge of PPE community structure across the world ocean and are crucial in assessing their evolution and contribution to CO2 fixation, especially in the context of global climate change.


Subject(s)
Chrysophyta/classification , Chrysophyta/isolation & purification , Haptophyta/classification , Haptophyta/isolation & purification , Seawater , Chrysophyta/genetics , Chrysophyta/physiology , Climate Change , Genes, rRNA , Haptophyta/genetics , Haptophyta/physiology , Marine Biology , Oceans and Seas , Photosynthesis , Phylogeny , Plastids/genetics , RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics
17.
Res Microbiol ; 164(4): 360-70, 2013 May.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-23395876

ABSTRACT

Thaumarchaeota have been recognized as the main drivers of aerobic ammonia oxidation in many ecosystems. However, little is known about the role of ammonia-oxidizing Archaea (AOA) and Bacteria (AOB) in lacustrine ecosystems. In this study, the photic zone of three contrasted freshwater ecosystems located in France was sampled during two periods: winter homothermy (H) and summer thermal stratification (TS), to investigate the distribution of planktonic AOA and AOB. We showed that AOB were predominant in nutrient-rich ecosystems, whereas AOA dominated when ammonia concentrations were the lowest and during winter, which could provide a favorable environment for their growth. Moreover, analyses of archaeal libraries revealed the ubiquity of the thaumarchaeal I.1a clade associated with higher diversity of AOA in the most nutrient-poor lake. More generally, this work assesses the presence of AOA in lakes, but also highlights the existence of clades typically associated with lacustrine and hot spring ecosystems and specific ecological niches occupied by these microorganisms.


Subject(s)
Ammonia/metabolism , Archaea/growth & development , Archaea/metabolism , Bacteria/growth & development , Bacteria/metabolism , Biota , Fresh Water/microbiology , Archaea/classification , Archaea/genetics , Bacteria/classification , Bacteria/genetics , France , Molecular Sequence Data , Oxidation-Reduction , Seasons , Sequence Analysis, DNA
18.
BMC Microbiol ; 12: 202, 2012 Sep 11.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-22966751

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Small size eukaryotes play a fundamental role in the functioning of coastal ecosystems, however, the way in which these micro-organisms respond to combined effects of water temperature, UVB radiations (UVBR) and nutrient availability is still poorly investigated. RESULTS: We coupled molecular tools (18S rRNA gene sequencing and fingerprinting) with microscope-based identification and counting to experimentally investigate the short-term responses of small eukaryotes (<6 µm; from a coastal Mediterranean lagoon) to a warming treatment (+3°C) and UVB radiation increases (+20%) at two different nutrient levels. Interestingly, the increase in temperature resulted in higher pigmented eukaryotes abundances and in community structure changes clearly illustrated by molecular analyses. For most of the phylogenetic groups, some rearrangements occurred at the OTUs level even when their relative proportion (microscope counting) did not change significantly. Temperature explained almost 20% of the total variance of the small eukaryote community structure (while UVB explained only 8.4%). However, complex cumulative effects were detected. Some antagonistic or non additive effects were detected between temperature and nutrients, especially for Dinophyceae and Cryptophyceae. CONCLUSIONS: This multifactorial experiment highlights the potential impacts, over short time scales, of changing environmental factors on the structure of various functional groups like small primary producers, parasites and saprotrophs which, in response, can modify energy flow in the planktonic food webs.


Subject(s)
Biodiversity , Eukaryota/growth & development , Eukaryota/radiation effects , Ultraviolet Rays , DNA, Ribosomal/chemistry , DNA, Ribosomal/genetics , Eukaryota/cytology , Eukaryota/genetics , Mediterranean Region , Microscopy , Molecular Sequence Data , RNA, Ribosomal, 18S/genetics , Seawater/microbiology , Sequence Analysis, DNA , Temperature
19.
PLoS One ; 7(6): e39648, 2012.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-22745802

ABSTRACT

Among small photosynthetic eukaryotes that play a key role in oceanic food webs, picoplanktonic Mamiellophyceae such as Bathycoccus, Micromonas, and Ostreococcus are particularly important in coastal regions. By using a combination of cell sorting by flow cytometry, whole genome amplification (WGA), and 454 pyrosequencing, we obtained metagenomic data for two natural picophytoplankton populations from the coastal upwelling waters off central Chile. About 60% of the reads of each sample could be mapped to the genome of Bathycoccus strain from the Mediterranean Sea (RCC1105), representing a total of 9 Mbp (sample T142) and 13 Mbp (sample T149) of non-redundant Bathycoccus genome sequences. WGA did not amplify all regions uniformly, resulting in unequal coverage along a given chromosome and between chromosomes. The identity at the DNA level between the metagenomes and the cultured genome was very high (96.3% identical bases for the three larger chromosomes over a 360 kbp alignment). At least two to three different genotypes seemed to be present in each natural sample based on read mapping to Bathycoccus RCC1105 genome.


Subject(s)
Chlorophyta/genetics , Metagenomics/methods , Chile , Molecular Sequence Data , Oceans and Seas , Sequence Analysis, DNA
20.
PLoS One ; 6(4): e18979, 2011 Apr 28.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-21552558

ABSTRACT

The genetic diversity of photosynthetic picoeukaryotes was investigated in the South East Pacific Ocean. Genetic libraries of the plastid 16S rRNA gene were constructed on picoeukaryote populations sorted by flow cytometry, using two different primer sets, OXY107F/OXY1313R commonly used to amplify oxygenic organisms, and PLA491F/OXY1313R, biased towards plastids of marine algae. Surprisingly, the two sets revealed quite different photosynthetic picoeukaryote diversity patterns, which were moreover different from what we previously reported using the 18S rRNA nuclear gene as a marker. The first 16S primer set revealed many sequences related to Pelagophyceae and Dictyochophyceae, the second 16S primer set was heavily biased toward Prymnesiophyceae, while 18S sequences were dominated by Prasinophyceae, Chrysophyceae and Haptophyta. Primer mismatches with major algal lineages is probably one reason behind this discrepancy. However, other reasons, such as DNA accessibility or gene copy numbers, may be also critical. Based on plastid 16S rRNA gene sequences, the structure of photosynthetic picoeukaryotes varied along the BIOSOPE transect vertically and horizontally. In oligotrophic regions, Pelagophyceae, Chrysophyceae, and Prymnesiophyceae dominated. Pelagophyceae were prevalent at the DCM depth and Chrysophyceae at the surface. In mesotrophic regions Pelagophyceae were still important but Chlorophyta contribution increased. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a new clade of Prasinophyceae (clade 16S-IX), which seems to be restricted to hyper-oligotrophic stations. Our data suggest that a single gene marker, even as widely used as 18S rRNA, provides a biased view of eukaryotic communities and that the use of several markers is necessary to obtain a complete image.


Subject(s)
Eukaryota/cytology , Flow Cytometry , Genetic Variation , Phytoplankton/cytology , Plastids/genetics , RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics , Cell Nucleus/genetics , DNA Primers/genetics , Eukaryota/genetics , Eukaryota/metabolism , Pacific Ocean , Photosynthesis/genetics , Phytoplankton/genetics , Phytoplankton/metabolism , Ships
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