Phylotype resolved spatial variation and association patterns of planktonic Thaumarchaeota in eastern Chinese marginal seas

The majority of marine ammonia oxidizers belong to Thaumarchaeota,a phylum of Archaea,which is distributed throughout the water column.Marine surface waters contain distinct thaumarchaeotal phylotypes compared to the deeper ocean,but spatial dynamics of the surface-associated lineages are largely unsolved.This study of 120 seawater samples from the eastern Chinese marginal seas identifed contrasting distribution and association patterns among thaumarchaeotal phylotypes across diferent dimensions.Horizontally,Nitrosopumilus-like and Nitrosopelagicus-like phylotypes dominated the surface water(3 m)of the Yellow Sea(YS)and East China Sea(ECS),respectively,along with increased abundance of total free-living Thaumarchaeota in ECS.Similar compositional changes were observed in the surface microlayer.The spatial heterogeneity of particle-attached Thaumarchaeota was less clear in surface microlayers than in surface waters.Vertically,the Nitrosopelagicus-like phylotype increased in abundance from surface to 90 m in ECS,which led to an increase in the proportion of Thaumarchaeota relative to total prokaryotes.This occurred mainly in the free-living fraction.These results indicate a clear size-fractionated niche partitioning,which is more pronounced at lower depths than in the surface water/surface microlayer.In addition,associations of Thaumarchaeota with other microbial taxa varied between phylotypes and size fractions.Our results show that a phylotype-resolved and size-fractionated spatial heterogeneity of the thaumarchaeotal community is present in surface oceanic waters and a vertical variation of the Nitrosopelagicus-like phylotype is present in shallow shelf waters.

Advances in GDGT research in Chinese Marginal Seas: A review

Archaeal and bacterial glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers(GDGTs) play a unique role in discerning the biogeochemical processes and climate change in terrestrial(e.g. soil, peat, stalagmites, lakes, rivers, hot springs) and marine environments. Organic proxies based on GDGTs(e.g. TEX_(86), MBT/CBT and BIT) have made impressive applications in the open ocean and terrestrial environments. However, the applicability of these proxies in marginal seas has not been thoroughly evaluated, which is necessary given the complexity and dynamics of these systems, such as organic matter(OM) flux, hydrodynamic conditions, and human impact. This review aims to summarize recent studies of GDGTs and GDGT-based proxies in the Chinese marginal seas(CMS), which are characterized by diverse gradient in terrigenous supplies and ocean productivity and hold rich information on climate and sea level changes, ocean current dynamics, sedimentary evolution and biogeochemical processes.