Community structural differences shape microbial responses to high molecular weight organic matter

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  • Balmonte, J.P.
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Marine Sciences
  • Buckley, A.
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Marine Sciences
  • Hoarfrost, A.
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Marine Sciences
  • Ghobrial, S.
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Marine Sciences
  • Ziervogel, K.
    • Other Affiliation: University of New Hampshire
  • Teske, A.
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Marine Sciences
  • Arnosti, C.
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Marine Sciences
Abstract
  • The extent to which differences in microbial community structure result in variations in organic matter (OM) degradation is not well understood. Here, we tested the hypothesis that distinct marine microbial communities from North Atlantic surface and bottom waters would exhibit varying compositional succession and functional shifts in response to the same pool of complex high molecular weight (HMW-OM). We also hypothesized that microbial communities would produce a broader spectrum of enzymes upon exposure to HMW-OM, indicating a greater potential to degrade these compounds than reflected by initial enzymatic activities. Our results show that community succession in amended mesocosms was congruent with cell growth, increased bacterial production and most notably, with substantial shifts in enzymatic activities. In all amended mesocosms, closely related taxa that were initially rare became dominant at time frames during which a broader spectrum of active enzymes were detected compared to initial timepoints, indicating a similar response among different communities. However, succession on the whole-community level, and the rates, spectra and progression of enzymatic activities, reveal robust differences among distinct communities from discrete water masses. These results underscore the crucial role of rare bacterial taxa in ocean carbon cycling and the importance of bacterial community structure for HMW-OM degradation.
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  • Article
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  • In Copyright
Journal title
  • Environmental Microbiology
Journal volume
  • 21
Journal issue
  • 2
Page start
  • 557
Page end
  • 571
Language
  • English
ISSN
  • 1462-2912
Publisher
  • Blackwell Publishing Ltd

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