Dynamics and Eco-Genomics of Baltic Sea Nitrifiers: Seasonality, Niches, Interactions and Genomic Uniqueness.

ABSTRACT: Nitrification is widespread across marine systems, yet the ecological and evolutionary drivers shaping nitrifier populations remain largely unknown. The Baltic Sea, a brackish basin with pronounced gradients in salinity, oxygen, nutrients and strong seasonality, is a valuable model environment to investigate these questions. Here, we combined metagenomics and rRNA gene sequencing to characterise the spatiotemporal dynamics and genomic diversity of nitrifiers, alongside physicochemical measurements. Nitrifiers were persistently abundant throughout aphotic waters, with vertical niche partitioning and seasonal peaks in surface waters from late fall to early spring. The seasonal peaks were positively correlated with nitrite, nitrate and diverse other prokaryotes, and negatively correlated with

SUBMITTER: Kim SS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12780485 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature