Spatially extensive microbial biogeography of the Indian Ocean provides insights into the unique community structure of a pristine coral atoll.

ABSTRACT: Microorganisms act both as drivers and indicators of perturbations in the marine environment. In an effort to establish baselines to predict the response of marine habitats to environmental change, here we report a broad survey of microbial diversity across the Indian Ocean, including the first microbial samples collected in the pristine lagoon of Salomon Islands, Chagos Archipelago. This was the first large-scale ecogenomic survey aboard a private yacht employing a 'citizen oceanography' approach and tools and protocols easily adapted to ocean going sailboats. Our data highlighted biogeographic patterns in microbial community composition across the Indian Ocean. Samples from within the Salomon Islands lagoon contained a community which was different even from adjacent samples despite cons

SUBMITTER: Jeffries TC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4611231 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature