Depth-Resolved Distribution of Particle-Attached and Free-Living Bacterial Communities in the Water Column of the New Britain Trench.

ABSTRACT: Particle-attached (PA) and free-living (FL) microorganisms play significant but different roles in mineralization of organic matter (OM) in the ocean. Currently, little is known about PA and FL microbial communities in bathyal and abyssal pelagic waters, and understanding of their diversity and distribution in the water column and their interactions with environmental factors in the trench area is limited. We investigated for the first time the variations of abundance and diversities of the PA and FL bacterial communities in the epi-, bathy-, and abyssopelagic zones of the New Britain Trench (NBT). The PA communities showed decreasing species richness but increasing relative abundance with depth, suggesting the increasing ecological significance of the PA bacteria in the deep ocean. The ab

SUBMITTER: Liu R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5893722 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature