Abundance,Diversity and Functional Potentials of Planktonic Bacteria and Microeukaryotes in the Coral-Reef System of Xisha Islands,China

Corals influence microorganisms within the surrounding seawater,yet the diversities and functions of seawater bacteria and microeukaryotes in coral-reef systems have not been well addressed.We collected 40 seawater samples in outer coral reef flats and semi-closed inner lagoons from the surface,middle and bottom layers in the pristine coral-reef system of Xisha Islands,South China Sea.We detected the abundance,composition and distribution of bacteria and microeukaryotes using flow cytometry,qPCR and high throughput sequencing techniques,and profiled the potential ecological roles based on the information of 16S and 18S rDNA sequencing.In terms of flow cytometry,Prochlorococcus dominated the autotrophs with cell abundance ranging from 5.8×10^(2)to 5.44×10^(3)cells mL−1 seawater.Based on qPCR,the 16S rDNA copies were much higher in coral reef flats than in lagoons(P=0.003).The bacterial communities held significantly lower diversity in bottom waters compared with surface and middle waters(P<0.05),which were dominated by SAR11,Flavobacteriales,and Synechococcus.Alveolata represented most of the microeukaryotic communities with Dinophyceae and Syndiniales well represented in all samples.Neither bacterial nor microeukaryotic community exhibited distinct layer or niche pattern,however,Haptophyta and Picozoa decreased with depth and SAR 86,MAST-3 and Picozoa were enriched in lagoons(P<0.05).To adapt the nutrient-poor and organic matter-rich environment,bacterial nitrogen fixation and assimilatory/dissimilatory nitrate reduction were active in the system,and mixotrophy was the most important trophic strategy among microeukaryotes.The study highlighted the ecological adaptability of seawater microbes to the unique coral-reef environments.

Phylogenetic diversity of planktonic bacteria in the Chukchi Borderland region in summer

Planktonic bacteria are abundant in the Chukchi Borderland region. However, little is known about their di- versity and the roles of various bacteria in the ocean. Seawater samples were collected from two stations K2S and K4S where sea ice was melting obviously. The analysis of water samples with fluorescence in situ hybridization （FISH） showed that DMSP-degrading bacteria accounted for 13% of the total bacteria at the station K2S. No aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic （AAP） bacteria were detected in both samples. The bacterial communities were characterized by two 16S rRNA gene clone libraries. Sequences fell into four major lineages of the domain Bacteria, including Proteobacteria （Alpha, Beta and Gamma subclasses）, Bac- teroidetes, Actinobacteria and Firmicutes. No significant difference was found between the two clone li- braries. SAR11 and Rhodobacteraceae clades of Alphaproteobacteria and Pseudoalteromonas of Gammapro- teobacteria constituted three dominant fractions in the clone libraries. A total of 191 heterotrophic bacterial strains were isolated and 76% showed extracellular proteolytic activity. Phylogenetic analysis reveals that the isolates fell into Gammaproteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria and Firmicutes. The most common genus in both the bacterial isolates and protease-producing bacteria was Pseudoalteromonas. UniFrac data showed suggestive differences in bacterial communities between the Chukchi Borderland and the northern Bering Sea.

Sensitivity of Planktonic Aquatic Bacteria to Ciprofloxacin

Many anthropogenic compounds, such as antibiotics, are found at trace levels (-1) in aquatic and terrestrial systems. The effect of these compounds on the metabolism and function of microbes are difficult to assess because the assays used, such as the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the disk diffusion methods, lack the sensitivities to measure bacterial response to these very low levels of antibiotics on bacterial populations. Therefore, we theorized that the [3H] thymidine incorporation into DNA method might be sensitive in determining the effect of DNA inhibiting antibiotics on DNA production in planktonic bacteria in aquatic systems. Utilizing the 3H thymidine method, we measured the effects of ciprofloxacin on DNA production on planktonic bacteria in river and pond waters. Ciprofloxacin significantly (P < 0.02) inhibited river water bacteria at a concentration of 25 μg·L-1 but significant inhibition (P < 0.01) occurred at 1000 μg·L-1in pond water. The very low concentration required to inhibit DNA production in river water bacteria indicates that bacteria are extremely sensitive to antibiotics at very low concentrations. A likely reason for the differences in inhibition between the two waters is due to ciprofloxacin becoming bound, and possibly becoming biologically inactive, in the pond water due to higher dissolved organic carbon content. This work demonstrates that bacteria in some aquatic systems can be significantly impacted by low concentrations of anthropogenic antibiotics finding their way into these systems and that our assumptions as to the concentrations at which antibiotics affect microbes are highly underestimated.

Ecological damage of submerged macrophyte Myriophyllum spicatum by cell extracts from microcystin(MC)-and non-MC-producing cyanobacteria,Microcystis

To explore how decomposed Microcystis-dominant cyanobacterial blooms affect submerged macrophytes,the submerged plant Myriophyllum spicatum was exposed to cell extracts from microcystin(MC)-and non-MC-producing Microcystis strains in a laboratory experiment.Results showed that both Mcracystis cell extracts exerted obvious damages to plant biomass,photosynthesis,primary and secondary metabolism measures,and resistance of plant antioxidant systems,with MC-producing Microcystis having stronger effects due to the presence of MCs.Cyanotoxins other than MCs responsible for the negative effects from both strains needs further identification.The Shannon diversity and Chao1 indices of epiphytic and planktonic bacteria were decreased by the cell extracts from both Microcystis strains.However,epiphytic and planktonic bacterial communities responded differently to cell extracts at the genus level.The dominant genera of planktonic bacteria including Enterobacter,Pseudomonas,and Novosphingobium from phylum Proteobacteria,Chryseobacterium from phylum Bacteroidetes,and Microbacterium from Actinobacteriota in the treatments with cell extracts were previously reported to have strains with algicidal and MC-degrading capabilities.B acterial genes associated with energy production and conversion,amino acid transport and metabolism,and inorganic ion transport and metabolism,were more abundant in both treatments than the control for planktonic bacteria,but less abundant for epiphytic bacteria.We speculate that planktonic bacterial communities have the potential to use and degrade substances derived from Microcystis cell extracts,which may be beneficial for M.spicatum to alleviate damages from Microcystis.Further research is needed to verify the structure and function dynamics of epiphytic and planktonic bacteria in the interaction between cyanobacteria and submerged macrophytes.

The different responses of planktonic bacteria and archaea to water temperature maintain the stability of their community diversity in dammed rivers

Background Planktonic bacteria and archaea play a key role in river nutrient biogeochemical cycling;however,their respective community assembly and how to maintain their diversity are not well known in dammed rivers.Therefore,a seasonal survey of planktonic bacterial and archaeal community compositions and related environmental factors was conducted in 16 cascade reservoirs and corresponding river waters on the Wujiang River and the Pearl River in southwest China to understand the above mechanisms.Results Deterministic processes dominated bacterial and archaeal community assembly.The structural equation models showed that water temperature can directly or indirectly affect the microbial diversity.Interestingly,planktonic bacterial diversity increased with increasing water temperature,while archaea showed the opposite trend;the overall diversity of bacteria and archaea was no significant changes with changeable water temperature.Abundant microbes had a stronger distance–decay relationship than middle and rare ones,and the relationship was stronger in winter and spring than in summer and autumn.Conclusions Planktonic bacteria and archaea in dammed rivers had different biogeographic distributions,and water temperature was a key controlling factor.The different responses of planktonic bacterial and archaeal diversity to water temperature could be due to their different phylogenetic diversity.This ultimately maintained the stability of total microbial community diversity.This study reveals the different responses of planktonic bacteria and archaea to water temperature and perfects the theoretical framework for planktonic microbial biogeography in dammed rivers.