Co-occurrence Analysis of Microbial Taxa in the Atlantic Ocean Reveals High Connectivity in the Free-Living Bacterioplankton.

ABSTRACT: We determined the taxonomic composition of the bacterioplankton of the epipelagic zone of the Atlantic Ocean along a latitudinal transect (51°S-47°N) using Illumina sequencing of the V5-V6 region of the 16S rRNA gene and inferred co-occurrence networks. Bacterioplankon community composition was distinct for Longhurstian provinces and water depth. Free-living microbial communities (between 0.22 and 3 μm) were dominated by highly abundant and ubiquitous taxa with streamlined genomes (e.g., SAR11, SAR86, OM1, Prochlorococcus) and could clearly be separated from particle-associated communities which were dominated by Bacteroidetes, Planktomycetes, Verrucomicrobia, and Roseobacters. From a total of 369 different communities we then inferred co-occurrence networks for each size fraction and dept

SUBMITTER: Milici M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4858663 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature