Polychaete mucopolysaccharide alters sediment microbial diversity and stimulates ammonia-oxidising functional groups

Sediment nitrogen cycling is a network of microbially mediated biogeochemical processes that are vital in regulating ecosystem functioning. Mucopolysaccharides (mucus) are produced by many invertebrates and have the potential to be an important source of organic carbon and nitrogen to sediment microorganisms. At present, we have limited understanding of how mucopolysaccharide moderates total sediment microbial communities and specific microbial functional groups that drive nitrogen cycling processes. To start addressing this knowledge gap, sediment slurries were incubated with and without Hediste diversicolor mucus. Changes in dissolved inorganic nitrogen (ammonia, nitrite and nitrate) concentrations and bacterial and archaeal community diversity were assessed. Our results showed that mucopolysaccharide addition supported a more abundant and distinct microbial community. Moreover, mucus stimulated the growth of bacterial and archaeal ammonia oxidisers, with a concomitant increase in nitrite and nitrate. Hediste diversicolor mucopolysaccharide appears to enhance sediment nitrification rates by stimulating and fuelling nitrifying microbial groups. We propose that invertebrate mucopolysaccharide secretion should be considered as a distinct functional trait when assessing invertebrate contributions to sediment ecosystem function. By including this additional trait, we can improve our mechanistic understanding of invertebrate-microbe interactions in nitrogen transformation processes and provide opportunity to generate more accurate models of global nitrogen cycling.