Prokaryotic Response to Phytodetritus-Derived Organic Material in Epi- and Mesopelagic Antarctic Waters.

ABSTRACT: Particulate organic matter (POM) export represents the underlying principle of the biological carbon pump, driving the carbon flux from the sunlit to the dark ocean. The efficiency of this process is tightly linked to the prokaryotic community, as >70% of POM respiration is carried out by particle-associated prokaryotes. In the Ross Sea, one of the most productive areas of the Southern Ocean, up to 50% of the surface primary production is exported to the mesopelagic ocean as POM. Recent evidence suggests that a significant fraction of the POM in this area is composed of intact phytoplankton cells. During austral summer 2017, we set up bottle enrichment experiments in which we amended free-living surface and deep prokaryotic communities with organic matter pools generated from native microp

SUBMITTER: Manna V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7296054 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature