Genome reconstructions indicate the partitioning of ecological functions inside a phytoplankton bloom in the Amundsen Sea, Antarctica.

ABSTRACT: Antarctica polynyas support intense phytoplankton blooms, impacting their environment by a substantial depletion of inorganic carbon and nutrients. These blooms are dominated by the colony-forming haptophyte Phaeocystis antarctica and they are accompanied by a distinct bacterial population. Yet, the ecological role these bacteria may play in P. antarctica blooms awaits elucidation of their functional gene pool and of the geochemical activities they support. Here, we report on a metagenome (~160 million reads) analysis of the microbial community associated with a P. antarctica bloom event in the Amundsen Sea polynya (West Antarctica). Genomes of the most abundant Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria populations have been reconstructed and a network analysis indicates a strong functional partiti

SUBMITTER: Delmont TO 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4620155 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature