Temporal variation in the prokaryotic community of a nearshore marine environment

Prokaryotic communities inhabiting surface waters of temperate areas exhibit patterns of seasonal succession. Generally, studies describing these temporal changes are not performed in the proximity to the coast. In the present study, temporal variation of these communities was determined in surface waters at two stations located in the close proximity to the eastern shore of the northern Adriatic Sea. Sequencing of the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene identified the highest community richness in December with distinct shifts in community structure between periods from April to May, June to October, and November to March. Temperature was shown to be the main environmental force explaining community temporal variation. The NS5 marine group, uncultured Cryomorphaceae, SAR86 clade, and Synechococcus were present throughout the year. Members without know relatives within Rhodobacteraceae and the NS4 marine group were more pronounced in the period from April to May, the AEGEAN-169 marine group, SAR11 subclade III, and HIMB11 in the period from June to October, and SAR11 subclade Ia and Archaea in the period from November to March. Litoricola and OM60 (NOR5) clade were characteristic for both the community sampled from April to May and November to March. Taken together, prokaryotic communities inhabiting nearshore surface waters exhibit a general pattern in community structure similar to other surface associated assemblages of temperate areas. However, the identified specific community composition and temporal patterns differ from other coastal areas.