Abiotic and Biotic Factors Affecting the Ingestion Rates of Mixotrophic Nanoflagellates (Haptophyta)

In situ community transcriptomics illuminates CO2-fixation potentials and supporting roles of phagotrophy and proton pump in plankton in a subtropical marginal sea

Lineage-wise physiological activities of plankton communities in the ocean are important but challenging to characterize. Here, we conducted whole-assemblage metatranscriptomic profiling at continental shelf and slope sites in the South China Sea to investigate carbon fixation potential in different lineages. RuBisCO expression, the proxy of Calvin carbon fixation (CCF) potential, was mainly contributed by Bacillariophyta, Chlorophyta, Cyanobacteria, and Haptophyta, which was differentially affected by environmental factors among lineages. CCF potential exhibited positive or negative correlations with phagotrophy gene expression, suggesting phagotrophy possibly enhances or complements CCF. Our data also reveal significant non-Calvin carbon fixation (NCF) potential, as indicated by the active expression of genes in all five currently recognized NCF pathways, mainly contributed by Flavobacteriales, Alteromonadales, and Oceanospirillales. Furthermore, in Flavobacteriales, Alteromonadales, Pelagibacterales, and Rhodobacterales, NCF potential was positively correlated with proton-pump rhodopsin (PPR) expression, suggesting that NCF might be energetically supported by PPR. The novel insights into the lineage-differential potential of carbon fixation, widespread mixotrophy, and PPR as an energy source for NCF lay a methodological and informational foundation for further research to understand carbon fixation and the trophic landscape in the ocean.IMPORTANCEMarine plankton plays an important role in global carbon cycling and climate regulation. Phytoplankton and cyanobacteria fix CO2 to produce organic compounds using solar energy and mainly by the Calvin cycle, whereas autotrophic bacteria and archaea may fix CO2 by non-Calvin cycle carbon fixation pathways. How active individual lineages are in carbon fixation and mixotrophy, and what energy source bacteria may employ in non-Calvin carbon fixation, in a natural plankton assemblage are poorly understood and underexplored. Using metatranscriptomics, we studied carbon fixation in marine plankton with lineage resolution in tropical marginal shelf and slope areas. Based on the sequencing results, we characterized the carbon fixation potential of different lineages and assessed Calvin- and non-Calvin- carbon fixation activities and energy sources. Data revealed a high number of unigenes (4.4 million), lineage-dependent differential potentials of Calvin carbon fixation and responses to environmental conditions, major contributors of non-Calvin carbon fixation, and their potential energy source.

Contrasting Community Composition and Co-Occurrence Relationships of the Active Pico-Sized Haptophytes in the Surface and Subsurface Chlorophyll Maximum Layers of the Arctic Ocean in Summer

Haptophytes (Hacrobia: Haptophyta), which can perform phototrophic, phagotrophic, or mixotrophic nutritional modes, are critical for element cycling in a variety of aquatic ecosystems. However, their diversity, particularly in the changing Arctic Ocean (AO), remains largely unknown. In the present study, the biodiversity, community composition, and co-occurrence networks of pico-sized haptophytes in the surface water and subsurface chlorophyll maximum (SCM) layer of the AO were explored. Our results found higher alpha diversity estimates in the surface water compared with in the SCM based on high-throughput sequencing of haptophyte specific 18S rRNA. The community composition of the surface water was significantly different from that of the SCM, and water temperature was identified as the primary factor shaping the community compositions. Prymnesiales (mostly Chrysochromulina), uncultured Prymnesiophyceae, and Phaeocystis dominated the surface water communities, whereas Phaeocystis dominated the SCM communities, followed by Chrysochromulina, uncultured Prymnesiophyceae, and the remaining taxa. The communities of the surface water and SCM layer developed relatively independent modules in the metacommunity network. Nodes in the surface water were more closely connected to one another than those in the SCM. Network stability analysis revealed that surface water networks were more stable than SCM networks. These findings suggest that SCM communities are more susceptible to environmental fluctuations than those in surface water and that future global changes (e.g., global warming) may profoundly influence the development, persistence, and service of SCM in the AO.

Spatiotemporal Changes in the Bacterial Community of the Meromictic Lake Uchum, Siberia

Lake Uchum is a newly defined meromictic lake in Siberia with clear seasonal changes in its mixolimnion. This study characterized the temporal dynamics and vertical profile of bacterial communities in oxic and anoxic zones of the lake across all four seasons: October (autumn), March (winter), May (spring), and August (summer). Bacterial richness and diversity in the anoxic zone varied widely between time points. Proteobacteria was the dominant bacterial phylum throughout the oxic and anoxic zones across all four seasons. Alphaproteobacteria (Loktanella) and Gammaproteobacteria (Aliidiomarina) exhibited the highest abundance in the oxic and anoxic zone, respectively. Furthermore, there was a successional shift in sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria in the anoxic zone across the seasons. The most dominant SRB, Desulfonatronovibrio sp., is likely one of the main producers of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) and typically accumulates the most H₂S in winter. The representative anoxygenic phototrophic bacterial group in Lake Uchum was purple sulfur bacteria (PSB). PSB were dominant (60.76%) in summer, but only had 0.2-1.5% relative abundance from autumn to spring. Multivariate analysis revealed that the abundance of these SRB and PSB correlated to the concentration of H₂S in Lake Uchum. Taken together, this study provides insights into the relationships between changes in bacterial community and environmental features in Lake Uchum.

Unusual marine cyanobacteria/haptophyte symbiosis relies on N2 fixation even in N-rich environments

The microbial fixation of N₂ is the largest source of biologically available nitrogen (N) to the oceans. However, it is the most energetically expensive N-acquisition process and is believed inhibited when less energetically expensive forms, like dissolved inorganic N (DIN), are available. Curiously, the cosmopolitan N₂-fixing UCYN-A/haptophyte symbiosis grows in DIN-replete waters, but the sensitivity of their N₂ fixation to DIN is unknown. We used stable isotope incubations, catalyzed reporter deposition fluorescence in-situ hybridization (CARD-FISH), and nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (nanoSIMS), to investigate the N source used by the haptophyte host and sensitivity of UCYN-A N₂ fixation in DIN-replete waters. We demonstrate that under our experimental conditions, the haptophyte hosts of two UCYN-A sublineages do not assimilate nitrate (NO₃⁻) and meet little of their N demands via ammonium (NH₄⁺) uptake. Instead the UCYN-A/haptophyte symbiosis relies on UCYN-A N₂ fixation to supply large portions of the haptophyte’s N requirements, even under DIN-replete conditions. Furthermore, UCYN-A N₂ fixation rates, and haptophyte host carbon fixation rates, were at times stimulated by NO₃⁻ additions in N-limited waters suggesting a link between the activities of the bulk phytoplankton assemblage and the UCYN-A/haptophyte symbiosis. The results suggest N₂ fixation may be an evolutionarily viable strategy for diazotroph–eukaryote symbioses, even in N-rich coastal or high latitude waters.