Abstract
Bacterial and archaeal diversity and succession were studied during a mesocosm experiment that investigated whether changing light regimes could affect the onset of phytoplankton blooms. For this, 454-pyrosequencing of the bacterial V1-V3 and archaeal V3-V9 16S rRNA regions was performed in samples collected from four mesocosms receiving different light irradiances at the beginning and the end of the experiment and during phytoplankton growth. In total, 46 bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) with ≥1% relative abundance occurred (22–34 OTUs per mesocosm). OTUs were affiliated mainly with Rhodobacteraceae, Flavobacteriaceae and Alteromonadaceae. The four mesocosms shared 11 abundant OTUs. Dominance increased at the beginning of phytoplankton growth in all treatments and decreased thereafter. Maximum dominance was found in the mesocosms with high irradiances. Overall, specific bacterial OTUs had different responses in terms of relative abundance under in situ and high light intensities, and an early phytoplankton bloom resulted in different bacterial community structures both at high (family) and low (OTU) taxonomic levels. Thus, bacterial community structure and succession are affected by light regime, both directly and indirectly, which may have implications for an ecosystem’s response to environmental changes.
Highlights
It is well known today that one of the most important pools of dissolved organic matter (DOM)in the euphotic layer is of phytoplankton origin
In this paper, using the same mesocosms as in Sommer et al [19], we investigated whether changes in the onset of the phytoplankton bloom and the succession of phytoplankton may be followed by changes in heterotrophic prokaryoplankton community composition due to alterations in light regime
We investigated changes of heterotrophic prokaryoplankton community composition during experimentally induced coastal phytoplankton blooms, based on operational taxonomic units (OTUs) diversity determined by 454 pyrosequencing of the bacterial V1–V3 and archaeal V3–V9 16S rRNA regions
Summary
It is well known today that one of the most important pools of dissolved organic matter (DOM)in the euphotic layer is of phytoplankton origin. Interactions are amphidromous—the composition of the DOM released by phytoplankton may affect bacterial growth and community structure, but bacteria will affect its amount and composition [4]. In a changing ocean it is important to understand the complex interactions between phytoplankton and bacteria that affect the fate of organic carbon in the biosphere. Bacterial community structure and succession during bloom events has been previously studied both in microcosm/mesocosm experiments [8] and in situ [9]. These studies have indicated that certain bacterial groups such as Rhodobacterales, SAR11, Alteromonadales and Bacteroidetes [8,9,10]
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