Endospores of thermophilic bacteria as tracers of microbial dispersal by ocean currents.

ABSTRACT: Microbial biogeography is influenced by the combined effects of passive dispersal and environmental selection, but the contribution of either factor can be difficult to discern. As thermophilic bacteria cannot grow in the cold seabed, their inactive spores are not subject to environmental selection. We therefore conducted a global experimental survey using thermophilic endospores that are passively deposited by sedimentation to the cold seafloor as tracers to study the effect of dispersal by ocean currents on the biogeography of marine microorganisms. Our analysis of 81 different marine sediments from around the world identified 146 species-level 16S rRNA phylotypes of endospore-forming, thermophilic Firmicutes. Phylotypes showed various patterns of spatial distribution in the world oceans

SUBMITTER: Muller AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4030223 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature