Taxonomical Resolution and Distribution of Bacterioplankton Along the Vertical Gradient Reveals Pronounced...

We examined the relationship between viruses and co-occurring bacterial communities across spatiotemporal scale in two contrasting freshwater lakes, namely meromictic Lake Pavin and dimictic Lake Aydat (Central France). Next-generation sequencing of 16S rRNA genes suggested distinct patterns in bacterioplankton community composition (BCC) between the lakes over depths and seasons. BCC were generally dominated by members of Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes covering about 95% of all sequences. Oxygen depletion at the bottom waters in Aydat and existence of permanent anoxia in the monimolimnion of Pavin resulted in the occurrence and dominance of lesser known members of lake communities such as Methylotenera, Methylobacter, Gallionella, Sulfurimonas, and Syntrophus in Pavin and Methylotenera and Sulfuritalea in Aydat. Differences in BCC appeared strongly related to dissolved oxygen concentration, temperature, viral infection, and virus-to-bacteria ratio. UniFrac analysis indicated a clear distinction in BCC when the percentage of viral infected bacterial cells and virus-to-bacteria ratio exceeded a threshold level of 10% and 5, respectively, suggesting a link between viruses and their potential bacterial host communities. Our study revealed that in both the lakes, the prevailing environmental factors across time and space structured and influenced the adaptation of bacterial communities to specific ecological niches.