Urea assimilation and oxidation support activity of phylogenetically diverse microbial communities of the dark ocean.

ABSTRACT: Urea is hypothesized to be an important source of nitrogen and chemical energy to microorganisms in the deep sea; however, direct evidence for urea use below the epipelagic ocean is lacking. Here, we explore urea utilization from 50 to 4000 meters depth in the northeastern Pacific Ocean using metagenomics, nitrification rates, and single-cell stable-isotope-uptake measurements with nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry. We find that on average 25% of deep-sea cells assimilated urea-derived N (60% of detectably active cells), and that cell-specific nitrogen-incorporation rates from urea were higher than that from ammonium. Both urea concentrations and assimilation rates relative to ammonium generally increased below the euphotic zone. We detected ammonia- and urea-based nitrification at

SUBMITTER: Arandia-Gorostidi N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11697164 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature