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Unraveling the Unseen Players in the Ocean - A Field Guide to Water Chemistry and Marine Microbiology
Published on: November 5, 2014
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Core microbial functional activities in ocean environments revealed by global metagenomic profiling analyses
Ari J S Ferreira1, Rania Siam1, João C Setubal2
1Department of Biology and the Science and Technology Research Center, School of Sciences and Engineering, The American University in Cairo, Cairo, New Cairo, Egypt.
Plos One
|June 13, 2014
Summary
Marine microbes adapt to light, but oxygen levels only impact those in extremely low-oxygen deep waters. This study analyzed microbial communities across global oceans to understand these adaptations.
Area of Science:
- Marine microbiology
- Metagenomics
- Oceanography
Background:
- Metagenomics enables functional profiling of marine microbial communities.
- Understanding the relationship between microbial genomes and environmental factors is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze marine microbial communities across diverse global ocean environments.
- To identify key functional genes (COGs) related to light and oxygen availability.
- To characterize the distribution of light- and oxygen-related biological activities.
Main Methods:
- Comprehensive analysis of 24 metagenomic datasets from 11 global ocean sites.
- Functional profiling using Clusters of Orthologous Groups (COGs).
- Definition of reference COGs for photic and aphotic zones, and extreme oxygen limitation.
Main Results:
- Light level is a primary driver of microbial adaptation in the water column.
- Oxygen concentration significantly impacts microbial communities only in extremely hypoxic aphotic waters.
- The aphotic zone shows greater phylogenetic and functional diversity, suggesting adaptation to varied energy sources.
Conclusions:
- Microbial community function is strongly influenced by light availability.
- Oxygen limitation is a critical factor only under extreme hypoxic conditions in the deep sea.
- The aphotic zone harbors diverse microbial communities adapted to scarce resources.
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