Note: When clicking on a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number, you will be taken to an external site maintained by the publisher.
Some full text articles may not yet be available without a charge during the embargo (administrative interval).
What is a DOI Number?
Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from this site.
-
Summary Global warming and eutrophication contribute to the worldwide increase in cyanobacterial blooms, and the level of cyanobacterial biomass is strongly associated with rises in methane emissions from surface lake waters. Hence, methane‐metabolizing microorganisms may be important for modulating carbon flow in cyanobacterial blooms. Here, we surveyed methanogenic and methanotrophic communities associated with floating
Microcystis aggregates in 10 lakes spanning four continents, through sequencing of 16S rRNA and functional marker genes. Methanogenic archaea (mainlyMethanoregula andMethanosaeta ) were detectable in 5 of the 10 lakes and constituted the majority (~50%–90%) of the archaeal community in these lakes. Three of the 10 lakes contained relatively more abundant methanotrophs than the other seven lakes, with the methanotrophic generaMethyloparacoccus ,Crenothrix , and an uncultured species related toMethylobacter dominating and nearly exclusively found in each of those three lakes. These three are among the five lakes in which methanogens were observed. Operational taxonomic unit (OTU) richness and abundance of methanotrophs were strongly positively correlated with those of methanogens, suggesting that their activities may be coupled. TheseMicrocystis ‐aggregate‐associated methanotrophs may be responsible for a hitherto overlooked sink for methane in surface freshwaters, and their co‐occurrence with methanogens sheds light on the methane cycle in cyanobacterial aggregates. -
Abstract Bacteria play key roles in the function and diversity of aquatic systems, but aside from study of specific bloom systems, little is known about the diversity or biogeography of bacteria associated with harmful cyanobacterial blooms (cyanoHABs). CyanoHAB species are known to shape bacterial community composition and to rely on functions provided by the associated bacteria, leading to the hypothesized cyanoHAB interactome, a coevolved community of synergistic and interacting bacteria species, each necessary for the success of the others. Here, we surveyed the microbiome associated with
Microcystis aeruginosa during blooms in 12 lakes spanning four continents as an initial test of the hypothesizedMicrocystis interactome. We predicted that microbiome composition and functional potential would be similar across blooms globally. Our results, as revealed by 16S rRNA sequence similarity, indicate thatM. aeruginosa is cosmopolitan in lakes across a 280° longitudinal and 90° latitudinal gradient. The microbiome communities were represented by a wide range of operational taxonomic units and relative abundances. Highly abundant taxa were more related and shared across most sites and did not vary with geographic distance, thus, likeMicrocystis , revealing no evidence for dispersal limitation. High phylogenetic relatedness, both within and across lakes, indicates that microbiome bacteria with similar functional potential were associated with all blooms. WhileMicrocystis and the microbiome bacteria shared many genes, whole‐community metagenomic analysis revealed a suite of biochemical pathways that could be considered complementary. Our results demonstrate a high degree of similarity across globalMicrocystis blooms, thereby providing initial support for the hypothesizedMicrocystis interactome.