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Mesoscale eddies cause deviations from the background physical and biogeochemical states of the oligotrophic oceans, but how these perturbations manifest in microbial ecosystem functioning, such as community macromolecular composition or carbon export, remains poorly characterized. We present comparative lipidomes from communities entrained in two eddies of opposite polarities (cyclone–anticyclone) in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG). A previous work on this two-eddy system has shown differences in particulate inorganic carbon (PIC) and biogenic silica sinking fluxes between the two eddies despite comparable total organic carbon fluxes. We measured the striking differences between the lipidomes of suspended and sinking particles that indicate taxon-specific responses to mesoscale perturbations. Specifically, cyanobacteria did not appear to respond to increased concentrations of phosphorus in the subsurface of the cyclonic eddy, while eukaryotic microbes exhibit P-stress relief as reflected in their lipid signatures. Furthermore, we found that two classes of lipids drive differences between suspended and sinking material: sinking particles are comparatively enriched in phosphatidylcholine (PC, a membrane-associated lipid) and triacylglycerol (TAG, an energy storage lipid). We observed significantly greater export of TAGs from the cyclonic eddy as compared to the anticyclone and found that this flux is strongly correlated with the concentration of ballast minerals (PIC and biogenic silica). This increased export of TAGs from the cyclone, but not the anticyclone, suggests that cyclonic eddy perturbations may be a mechanism for the delivery of energy-rich organic material below the euphotic zone. 

Ecophysiological stress and the grazing of diatoms are known to elicit the production of chemical defense compounds called oxylipins, which are toxic to a wide range of marine organisms. Here we show that (1) the viral infection and lysis of diatoms resulted in oxylipin production; (2) the suite of compounds produced depended on the diatom host and the infecting virus; and (3) the virus-mediated oxylipidome was distinct, in both magnitude and diversity, from oxylipins produced due to stress associated with the growth phase. We used high-resolution accurate-mass mass spectrometry to observe changes in the dissolved lipidome of diatom cells infected with viruses over 3 to 4 days, compared to diatom cells in exponential, stationary, and decline phases of growth. Three host virus pairs were used as model systems: Chaetoceros tenuissimus infected with CtenDNAV; C. tenuissimus infected with CtenRNAV; and Chaetoceros socialis infected with CsfrRNAV. Several of the compounds that were significantly overproduced during viral infection are known to decrease the reproductive success of copepods and interfere with microzooplankton grazing. Specifically, oxylipins associated with allelopathy towards zooplankton from the 6-, 9-, 11-, and 15-lipogenase (LOX) pathways were significantly more abundant during viral lysis. 9-hydroperoxy hexadecatetraenoic acid was identified as the strongest biomarker for the infection of Chaetoceros diatoms. C. tenuissimus produced longer, more oxidized oxylipins when lysed by CtenRNAV compared to CtenDNAV. However, CtenDNAV caused a more statistically significant response in the lipidome, producing more oxylipins from known diatom LOX pathways than CtenRNAV. A smaller set of compounds was significantly more abundant in stationary and declining C. tenuissimus and C. socialis controls. Two allelopathic oxylipins in the 15-LOX pathway and essential fatty acids, arachidonic acid (ARA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) were more abundant in the stationary phase than during the lysis of C. socialis. The host–virus pair comparisons underscore the species-level differences in oxylipin production and the value of screening more host–virus systems. We propose that the viral infection of diatoms elicits chemical defense via oxylipins which deters grazing with downstream trophic and biogeochemical effects. 

Climate-change-related declines in the availability of some essential fatty acids to marine food webs may affect future fisheries. 

The transition from winter to spring represents a major shift in the basal energy source for the Antarctic marine ecosystem from lipids and other sources of stored energy to sunlight. Because sea ice imposes a strong control on the transmission of sunlight into the water column during the polar spring, we hypothesized that the timing of the sea ice retreat influences the timing of the transition from stored energy to photosynthesis. To test the influence of sea ice on water column microbial energy utilization we took advantage of unique sea ice conditions in Arthur Harbor, an embayment near Palmer Station on the western Antarctic Peninsula, during the 2015 spring–summer seasonal transition. Over a 5-week period we sampled water from below land-fast sea ice, in the marginal ice zone at nearby Palmer Station B, and conducted an ice removal experiment with incubations of water collected below the land-fast ice. Whole-community metatranscriptomes were paired with lipidomics to better understand how lipid production and utilization was influenced by light conditions. We identified several different phytoplankton taxa that responded similarly to light by the number of genes up-regulated, and in the transcriptional complexity of this response. We applied a principal components analysis to these data to reduce their dimensionality, revealing that each of these taxa exhibited a strikingly different pattern of gene up-regulation. By correlating the changes in lipid concentration to the first principal component of log fold-change for each taxa we could make predictions about which taxa were associated with different changes in the community lipidome. We found that genes coding for the catabolism of triacylglycerol storage lipids were expressed early on in phytoplankton associated with aFragilariopsis kerguelensisreference transcriptome. Phytoplankton associated with aCorethron pennatumreference transcriptome occupied an adjacent niche, responding favorably to higher light conditions thanF. kerguelensis. Other diatom and dinoflagellate taxa had distinct transcriptional profiles and correlations to lipids, suggesting diverse ecological strategies during the polar winter–spring transition. 

Abstract Seasonal shifts in phytoplankton accumulation and loss largely follow changes in mixed layer depth, but the impact of mixed layer depth on cell physiology remains unexplored. Here, we investigate the physiological state of phytoplankton populations associated with distinct bloom phases and mixing regimes in the North Atlantic. Stratification and deep mixing alter community physiology and viral production, effectively shaping accumulation rates. Communities in relatively deep, early-spring mixed layers are characterized by low levels of stress and high accumulation rates, while those in the recently shallowed mixed layers in late-spring have high levels of oxidative stress. Prolonged stratification into early autumn manifests in negative accumulation rates, along with pronounced signatures of compromised membranes, death-related protease activity, virus production, nutrient drawdown, and lipid markers indicative of nutrient stress. Positive accumulation renews during mixed layer deepening with transition into winter, concomitant with enhanced nutrient supply and lessened viral pressure.