Adaptation of Surface-Associated Bacteria to the Open Ocean: A Genomically Distinct Subpopulation of Phaeobacter gallaeciensis Colonizes Pacific Mesozooplankton.

ABSTRACT: The marine Roseobacter group encompasses numerous species which occupy a large variety of ecological niches. However, members of the genus Phaeobacter are specifically adapted to a surface-associated lifestyle and have so far been found nearly exclusively in disjunct, man-made environments including shellfish and fish aquacultures, as well as harbors. Therefore, the possible natural habitats, dispersal and evolution of Phaeobacter spp. have largely remained obscure. Applying a high-throughput cultivation strategy along a longitudinal Pacific transect, the present study revealed for the first time a widespread natural occurrence of Phaeobacter in the marine pelagial. These bacteria were found to be specifically associated to mesoplankton where they constitute a s

SUBMITTER: Freese HM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5583230 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature