Large Enrichment of Anthropogenic Organic Matter Degrading Bacteria in the Sea-Surface Microlayer at Coastal Livingston Island (Antarctica).

ABSTRACT: The composition of bacteria inhabiting the sea-surface microlayer (SML) is poorly characterized globally and yet undescribed for the Southern Ocean, despite their relevance for the biogeochemistry of the surface ocean. We report the abundances and diversity of bacteria inhabiting the SML and the subsurface waters (SSL) determined from a unique sample set from a polar coastal ecosystem (Livingston Island, Antarctica). From early to late austral summer (January-March 2018), we consistently found a higher abundance of bacteria in the SML than in the SSL. The SML was enriched in some Gammaproteobacteria genus such as Pseudoalteromonas, Pseudomonas, and Colwellia, known to degrade a wide range of semivolatile, hydrophobic, and surfactant-like organic pollutants. Hydrocarbon

SUBMITTER: Martinez-Varela A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7516020 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature