scholarly journals Diversity of Pico- to Mesoplankton Along the 2000 km Salinity Gradient of the Baltic Sea

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yue OO Hu ◽  
Bengt Karlson ◽  
Sophie Charvet ◽  
Anders F Andersson
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Deep Sequencing ◽  
High Throughput Sequencing ◽  
Salinity Gradient ◽  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Marker Genes ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
The Baltic

Microscopic plankton form the productive base of both marine and freshwater ecosystems and are key drivers of global biogeochemical cycles of carbon and nutrients. Plankton diversity is immense with representations from all major phyla within the three domains of life. So far, plankton monitoring has mainly been based on microscopic identification, which has limited sensitivity and reproducibility, not least because of the numerical majority of plankton being unidentifiable under the light microscope. High-throughput sequencing of taxonomic marker genes offers a means to identify taxa inaccessible by traditional methods; thus, recent studies have unveiled an extensive previously unknown diversity of plankton. Here, we conducted ultra-deep Illumina sequencing (average 105 sequences/sample) of rRNA gene amplicons of surface water eukaryotic and bacterial plankton communities along a 2000 km transect following the salinity gradient of the Baltic Sea. Community composition was strongly correlated with salinity for both bacterial and eukaryotic plankton assemblages, highlighting the importance of salinity for structuring the biodiversity within this ecosystem. The distribution of major planktonic taxa followed expected patterns as observed in monitoring programs, but also novel groups to the Baltic were identified, such as relatives to the coccolithophore Emiliana huxleyi in the northern Baltic Sea. The deep sequencing also enabled accurate enumeration of highly resolved (> 99% identity) operational taxonomic units, which revealed contrasting distribution profiles among closely related populations, reflecting niche partitioning into ecotypes. This study provides the first ultra-deep sequencing-based survey on eukaryotic and bacterial plankton biogeography in the Baltic Sea.

scholarly journals Changes in long chain alkenone distributions and Isochrysidales groups along the Baltic Sea salinity gradient

2019 ◽  
Vol 127 ◽  
pp. 92-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jérôme Kaiser ◽  
Karen J. Wang ◽  
Derek Rott ◽  
Gaoyuan Li ◽  
Yinsui Zheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Salinity Gradient ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Long Chain

scholarly journals Geographic variation in fitness‐related traits of the bladderwrack Fucus vesiculosus along the Baltic Sea‐North Sea salinity gradient

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (16) ◽  
pp. 9225-9238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco R. Barboza ◽  
Jonne Kotta ◽  
Florian Weinberger ◽  
Veijo Jormalainen ◽  
Patrik Kraufvelin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Geographic Variation ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Salinity Gradient ◽  
Fucus Vesiculosus ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
The Baltic

Acclimation limits of Fucus evanescens along the salinity gradient of the southwestern Baltic Sea

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-42
Author(s):  
Katharina Romoth ◽  
Petra Nowak ◽  
Daniela Kempke ◽  
Anna Dietrich ◽  
Christian Porsche ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Salinity Gradient ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Measurement Data ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Photosynthetic Parameters ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Fucus Evanescens ◽  
The Baltic

Abstract Over recent decades, the neophyte Fucus evanescens has extended eastwards along the salinity gradient within the Baltic Sea, indicating gradual adaptation to low salinity conditions. To find out whether F. evanescens can migrate further into the Baltic Sea and potentially become a competitor to the native F. vesiculosus, the acclimation potentials of different F. evanescens and F. vesiculosus populations were investigated with respect to habitat salinity. For both species, pigmentation, water content, and photosynthetic rate were measured under laboratory and field conditions. The instantaneous measurement data and incubation experiment did not show clear differences in the measured photosynthetic parameters between different salinity levels (6–20), or between species. Maximum likelihood phylogenetic analyses of the nuclear marker PDI (a putative protein disulfide isomerase) separated F. vesiculosus and F. evanescens into well-defined groups supporting the hypothesis that the two very similar species do not represent different morphotypes of the same species/gene pool. These findings indicate that – at least for the vegetative stage of F. evanescens – salinity may not be a limiting factor for a further spread into the Baltic Sea.

scholarly journals Benthic cyanobacteria of the genus Nodularia are non-toxic, without gas vacuoles, able to glide and genetically more diverse than planktonic Nodularia

2005 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 555-568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Lyra ◽  
Maria Laamanen ◽  
Jaana M. Lehtimäki ◽  
Anu Surakka ◽  
Kaarina Sivonen
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
16S Rrna Gene Sequences ◽  
Benthic Species ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Ecological Features ◽  
Gas Vacuoles ◽  
Different Types ◽  
The Baltic

Diversity and ecological features of cyanobacteria of the genus Nodularia from benthic, periphytic and soil habitats are less well known than those of Nodularia from planktonic habitats. Novel benthic Nodularia strains were isolated from the Baltic Sea and their morphology, the presence of gas vacuoles, nodularin production, gliding, 16S rRNA gene sequences, rpoB, rbcLX and ndaF genes, and gvpA-IGS regions were examined, as well as short tandemly repeated repetitive sequence fingerprints. Strains were identified as Nodularia spumigena, Nodularia sphaerocarpa or Nodularia harveyana on the basis of the size and shape of the different types of cells and the presence or absence of gas vacuoles. The planktonic strains of N. spumigena mostly had gas vacuoles and produced nodularin, whereas the benthic strains of N. sphaerocarpa and N. harveyana lacked gas vacuoles and did not produce nodularin (except for strain PCC 7804). The benthic strains were also able to glide on surfaces. In the genetic analyses, the planktonic N. spumigena and benthic N. sphaerocarpa formed monophyletic clusters, but the clusters were very closely related. Benthic strains determined as N. harveyana formed the most diverse and distant group of strains. In addition to phylogenetic analyses, the lack of the gvpA-IGS region and ndaF in N. sphaerocarpa and N. harveyana distinguished these species from the planktonic N. spumigena. Therefore, ndaF can be considered as a potential diagnostic tool for detecting and quantifying Baltic Sea bloom-forming, nodularin-producing N. spumigena strains. The data confirm that only one morphologically and genetically distinct planktonic species of Nodularia, N. spumigena, and at least two benthic species, N. sphaerocarpa and N. harveyana, exist in the Baltic Sea.

scholarly journals Diversity and abundance of “Pelagibacterales” (SAR11) in the Baltic Sea salinity gradient

2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (8) ◽  
pp. 601-604 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel P.R. Herlemann ◽  
Jana Woelk ◽  
Matthias Labrenz ◽  
Klaus Jürgens
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Salinity Gradient ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
The Baltic

scholarly journals Fractionation of iron species and iron isotopes in the Baltic Sea euphotic zone

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 2489-2508 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Gelting ◽  
E. Breitbarth ◽  
B. Stolpe ◽  
M. Hassellöv ◽  
J. Ingri
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Salinity Gradient ◽  
Euphotic Zone ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Strong Positive Correlation ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Gotland Deep ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Bothnian Sea

Abstract. To indentify sources and transport mechanisms of iron in a coastal marine environment, we conducted measurements of the physiochemical speciation of Fe in the euphotic zone at three different locations in the Baltic Sea. In addition to sampling across a salinity gradient, we conducted this study over the spring and summer season. Moving from the riverine input characterized low salinity Bothnian Sea, via the Landsort Deep near Stockholm, towards the Gotland Deep in the Baltic Proper, total Fe concentrations averaged 114, 44, and 15 nM, respectively. At all three locations, a decrease in total Fe of 80–90% from early spring to summer was observed. Particulate Fe (PFe) was the dominating phase at all stations and accounted for 75–85% of the total Fe pool on average. The Fe isotope composition (δ 56Fe) of the PFe showed constant positive values in the Bothnian Sea surface waters (+0.08 to +0.20‰). Enrichment of heavy Fe in the Bothnian Sea PFe is possibly associated to input of aggregated land derived Fe-oxyhydroxides and oxidation of dissolved Fe(II). At the Landsort Deep the isotopic fractionation of PFe changed between −0.08‰ to +0.28‰ over the sampling period. The negative values in early spring indicate transport of PFe from the oxic-anoxic boundary at ∼80 m depth. The average colloidal iron fraction (CFe) showed decreasing concentrations along the salinity gradient; Bothnian Sea 15 nM; Landsort Deep 1 nM, and Gotland Deep 0.5 nM. Field Flow Fractionation data indicate that the main colloidal carrier phase for Fe in the Baltic Sea is a carbon-rich fulvic acid associated compound, likely of riverine origin. A strong positive correlation between PFe and chl-a indicates that cycling of suspended Fe is at least partially controlled by primary production. However, this relationship may not be dominated by active uptake of Fe into phytoplankton, but instead may reflect scavenging and removal of PFe during phytoplankton sedimentation.

scholarly journals Genomic and Seasonal Variations among Aquatic Phages Infecting the Baltic Sea Gammaproteobacterium Rheinheimera sp. Strain BAL341

2019 ◽  
Vol 85 (18) ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Nilsson ◽  
K. Li ◽  
J. Fridlund ◽  
S. Šulčius ◽  
C. Bunse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Seasonal Variations ◽  
Aquatic Ecosystems ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Host System ◽  
Host Interactions ◽  
Metabolic Genes ◽  
The Baltic

ABSTRACT Knowledge in aquatic virology has been greatly improved by culture-independent methods, yet there is still a critical need for isolating novel phages to identify the large proportion of “unknowns” that dominate metagenomes and for detailed analyses of phage-host interactions. Here, 54 phages infecting Rheinheimera sp. strain BAL341 (Gammaproteobacteria) were isolated from Baltic Sea seawater and characterized through genome content analysis and comparative genomics. The phages showed a myovirus-like morphology and belonged to a novel genus, for which we propose the name Barbavirus. All phages had similar genome sizes and numbers of genes (80 to 84 kb; 134 to 145 genes), and based on average nucleotide identity and genome BLAST distance phylogeny, the phages were divided into five species. The phages possessed several genes involved in metabolic processes and host signaling, such as genes encoding ribonucleotide reductase and thymidylate synthase, phoH, and mazG. One species had additional metabolic genes involved in pyridine nucleotide salvage, possibly providing a fitness advantage by further increasing the phages’ replication efficiency. Recruitment of viral metagenomic reads (25 Baltic Sea viral metagenomes from 2012 to 2015) to the phage genomes showed pronounced seasonal variations, with increased relative abundances of barba phages in August and September synchronized with peaks in host abundances, as shown by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Overall, this study provides detailed information regarding genetic diversity, phage-host interactions, and temporal dynamics of an ecologically important aquatic phage-host system. IMPORTANCE Phages are important in aquatic ecosystems as they influence their microbial hosts through lysis, gene transfer, transcriptional regulation, and expression of phage metabolic genes. Still, there is limited knowledge of how phages interact with their hosts, especially at fine scales. Here, a Rheinheimera phage-host system constituting highly similar phages infecting one host strain is presented. This relatively limited diversity has previously been seen only when smaller numbers of phages have been isolated and points toward ecological constraints affecting the Rheinheimera phage diversity. The variation of metabolic genes among the species points toward various fitness advantages, opening up possibilities for future hypothesis testing. Phage-host dynamics monitored over several years point toward recurring “kill-the-winner” oscillations and an ecological niche fulfilled by this system in the Baltic Sea. Identifying and quantifying ecological dynamics of such phage-host model systems in situ allow us to understand and study the influence of phages on aquatic ecosystems.

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