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Abstract Marine biogeochemical cycles are built on interactions between surface ocean microbes, particularly those connecting phytoplankton primary producers to heterotrophic bacteria. Details of these associations are not well understood, especially in the case of direct influences of bacteria on phytoplankton physiology. Here we catalogue how the presence of three marine bacteria (Ruegeria pomeroyiDSS‐3,Stenotrophomonassp. SKA14 andPolaribacter dokdonensisMED152) individually and uniquely impact gene expression of the picoeukaryotic algaMicromonas commodaRCC 299. We find a dramatic transcriptomic remodelling byM. commodaafter 8 h in co‐culture, followed by an increase in cell numbers by 56 h compared with the axenic cultures. Some aspects of the algal transcriptomic response are conserved across all three bacterial co‐cultures, including an unexpected reduction in relative expression of photosynthesis and carbon fixation pathways. Expression differences restricted to a single bacterium are also observed, with the FlavobacteriiaP. dokdonensisuniquely eliciting changes in relative expression of algal genes involved in biotin biosynthesis and the acquisition and assimilation of nitrogen. This study reveals thatM. commodahas rapid and extensive responses to heterotrophic bacteria in ways that are generalizable, as well as in a taxon specific manner, with implications for the diversity of phytoplankton‐bacteria interactions ongoing in the surface ocean.
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Bacterial transcriptional response to picoeukaryote Micromonas commoda
Marine biogeochemical cycles are built on interactions between surface ocean microbes, particularly those connecting phytoplankton primary producers to heterotrophic bacteria. However, direct influences of bacteria on phytoplankton physiology are poorly known. In this study, three marine bacteria (Ruegeria pomeroyi DSS-3, Stenotrophomonas sp. SKA14, and Polaribacter dokdonensis MED152) were co-cultured with green alga Micromonas commoda, and the phytoplankter's transcriptome was studied by RNASeq. The presence of each bacterium invoked transcriptomic remodeling by M. commoda after 8 h in co-culture. Some aspects of the algal transcriptomic response were conserved across all three bacteria, while others were restricted to a single bacterium. M. commoda had both rapid and extensive responses to heterotrophic bacteria.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1948104
- PAR ID:
- 10674680
- Publisher / Repository:
- Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO)
- Date Published:
- Edition / Version:
- 1
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- phytoplankton-bacteria interactions Micromonas commoda transcriptome Heterotrophic Bacteria
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- BCO-DMO
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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