High spatial heterogeneity and low connectivity of bacterial communities along a Mediterranean subterranean estuary.

ABSTRACT: Subterranean estuaries are biogeochemically active coastal sites resulting from the underground mixing of fresh aquifer groundwater and seawater. In these systems, microbial activity can largely transform the chemical elements that may reach the sea through submarine groundwater discharge (SGD), but little is known about the microorganisms thriving in these land-sea transition zones. We present the first spatially-resolved characterization of the bacterial assemblages along a coastal aquifer in the NW Mediterranean, considering the entire subsurface salinity gradient. Combining bulk heterotrophic activity measurements, flow cytometry, microscopy and 16S rRNA gene sequencing we find large variations in prokaryotic abundances, cell size, activity and diversity at both the horizontal and vert

SUBMITTER: Ruiz-Gonzalez C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9827943 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature