Using metatranscriptomics to better understand the role of microbial nitrogen cycling in coastal sediment benthic flux denitrification efficiency.

Spatial and temporal variability in benthic flux denitrification efficiency occurs across Port Phillip Bay, Australia. Here, we assess the capacity for untargeted metatranscriptomics to resolve spatiotemporal differences in the microbial contribution to benthic nitrogen cycling. The most abundant sediment transcripts assembled were associated with the archaeal nitrifier Nitrosopumilus. In sediments close to external inputs of organic nitrogen, the dominant transcripts were associated with Nitrosopumilus nitric oxide nitrite reduction (nirK). The environmental conditions close to organic nitrogen inputs that select for increased transcription in Nitrosopumilus (amoCAB, nirK, nirS, nmo, hcp) additionally selected for increased transcription of bacterial nitrite reduction (nxrB) and transcripts associated with anammox (hzo) but not denitrification (bacterial nirS/nirk). In sediments that are more isolated from external inputs of organic nitrogen dominant transcripts were associated with nitrous oxide reduction (nosZ) and changes in nosZ transcript abundance were uncoupled from transcriptional profiles associated with archaeal nitrification. Coordinated transcription of coupled community-level nitrification-denitrification was not well supported by metatranscriptomics. In comparison, the abundance of archaeal nirK transcripts were site- and season-specific. This study indicates that the transcription of archaeal nirK in response to changing environmental conditions may be an important and overlooked feature of coastal sediment nitrogen cycling.

Temporal profiling resolves the drivers of microbial nitrogen cycling variability in coastal sediments.

Here we describe the potential for sediment microbial nitrogen-cycling gene (DNA) and activity (RNA) abundances to spatially resolve coastal areas impacted by seasonal variability in external nutrient inputs. Three sites were chosen within a nitrogen-limited embayment, Port Phillip Bay (PPB), Australia that reflect variability in both proximity to external nutrient inputs and the dominant form of available nitrogen. At three sediment depths (0-1; 1-5; 5-10 cm) across a 2 year study key genes involved in nitrification (archaeal amoA and bacterial ß-amoA), nitrite reduction (clade I nirS and cluster I nirK, archaeal nirK-a), anaerobic oxidation of ammonium (anammox 16S rRNA phylogenetic marker) and nitrogen fixation (nifH) were quantified. Sediments impacted by a dominance of organic nitrogen inputs were characterised at all time-points and to sediment depths of 10 cm by the highest transcript abundances of archaeal amoA and archaeal nirk-a. Proximity to a dominance of external nitrate inputs was associated with the highest transcript abundances of nirS which temporally co-varied with seasonal changes in sediment nitrate. Sediments isolated from external inputs displayed the greatest depth-specific decrease in quantifiable transcript abundances. In these isolated sediments bacterial ß-amoA transcripts were temporally associated with increased sediment ammonium levels. Across this nitrogen limited system variability in the abundance of bacterial ß-amoA, archaeal amoA, archaeal nirk-a or nirS transcripts from the sediment surface (0-1 and 5 cm) demonstrated a capacity to improve our ability to monitor coastal zones impacted by anthropogenic nitrogen inputs. Specifically, the spatial detection sensitivity of bacterial ß-amoA transcripts could be developed as a metric to determine spatiotemporal impacts of large external loading events. This temporal study demonstrates a capacity for microbial activity metrics to facilitate coastal management strategies through greater spatial resolution of areas impacted by external nutrient inputs.

SSU-rRNA Gene Sequencing Survey of Benthic Microbial Eukaryotes from Guaymas Basin Hydrothermal Vent.

Microbial eukaryotes have important roles in marine food webs, but their diversity and activities in hydrothermal vent ecosystems are poorly characterized. In this study, we analyzed microbial eukaryotic communities associated with bacterial (Beggiatoa) mats in the 2,000 m deep-sea Guaymas Basin hydrothermal vent system using 18S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing of the V4 region. We detected 6,954 distinct Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) across various mat systems. Of the sequences that aligned with known protistan phylotypes, most were affiliated with alveolates (especially dinoflagellates and ciliates) and cercozoans. OTU richness and community structure differed among sediment habitats (e.g. different mat types and cold sediments away from mats). Additionally, full-length 18S rRNA genes amplified and cloned from single cells revealed the identities of some of the most commonly encountered, active ciliates in this hydrothermal vent ecosystem. Observations and experiments were also conducted to demonstrate that ciliates were trophically active and ingesting fluorescent bacteria or Beggiatoa trichomes. Our work suggests that the active and diverse protistan community at the Guaymas Basin hydrothermal vent ecosystem likely consumes substantial amounts of bacterial biomass, and that the different habitats, often defined by distances of just a few 10s of cm, select for particular assemblages and levels of diversity.

Primer selection influences abundance estimates of ammonia oxidizing archaea in coastal marine sediments.

Quantification of the α-subunit of ammonia monooxygenase (amoA) through PCR is an established technique for estimating the abundance of ammonia oxidizing archaea (AOA) in environmental samples. This study quantified AOA with two established primer sets in 1 cm increments from the sediment surface (0-1 cm) to a depth of 10 cm at two locations within Port Phillip Bay (PPB), Australia. Primer choice had a significant effect on within sample estimates of AOA with copy numbers ranging from 102 to 104 copies per ng DNA. Variation in AOA abundance patterns with increasing sediment depth were site and primer specific. Sequence mismatches between the primer binding region of the isolated amoA sequences from PPB and Nitrosopumilus maritimus SCM1 were identified and may explain the high variation identified between primer estimates. Our results highlight the need for testing multiple primer pairs that target different regions of the AOA amoA sequence prior to large-scale marine sediment environmental studies.

Shifting metabolic priorities among key protistan taxa within and below the euphotic zone.

A metatranscriptome study targeting the protistan community was conducted off the coast of Southern California, at the San Pedro Ocean Time-series station at the surface, 150 m (oxycline), and 890 m to link putative metabolic patterns to distinct protistan lineages. Comparison of relative transcript abundances revealed depth-related shifts in the nutritional modes of key taxonomic groups. Eukaryotic gene expression in the sunlit surface environment was dominated by phototrophs, such as diatoms and chlorophytes, and high abundances of transcripts associated with synthesis pathways (e.g., photosynthesis, carbon fixation, fatty acid synthesis). Sub-euphotic depths (150 and 890 m) exhibited strong contributions from dinoflagellates and ciliates, and were characterized by transcripts relating to digestion or intracellular nutrient recycling (e.g., breakdown of fatty acids and V-type ATPases). These transcriptional patterns underlie the distinct nutritional modes of ecologically important protistan lineages that drive marine food webs, and provide a framework to investigate trophic dynamics across diverse protistan communities.

A tale of two mixotrophic chrysophytes: Insights into the metabolisms of two Ochromonas species (Chrysophyceae) through a comparison of gene expression.

Ochromonas spp. strains CCMP1393 and BG-1 are phagotrophic phytoflagellates with different nutritional strategies. Strain CCMP1393 is an obligate phototroph while strain BG-1 readily grows in continuous darkness in the presence of bacterial prey. Growth and gene expression of strain CCMP1393 were investigated under conditions allowing phagotrophic, mixotrophic, or phototrophic nutrition. The availability of light and bacterial prey led to the differential expression of 42% or 45-59% of all genes, respectively. Data from strain CCMP1393 were compared to those from a study conducted previously on strain BG-1, and revealed notable differences in carbon and nitrogen metabolism between the 2 congeners under similar environmental conditions. Strain BG-1 utilized bacterial carbon and amino acids through glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle, while downregulating light harvesting and carbon fixation in the Calvin cycle when both light and bacteria were available. In contrast, the upregulation of genes related to photosynthesis, light harvesting, chlorophyll synthesis, and carbon fixation in the presence of light and prey for strain CCMP1393 implied that this species is more phototrophic than strain BG-1, and that phagotrophy may have enhanced phototrophy. Cellular chlorophyll a content was also significantly higher in strain CCMP1393 supplied with bacteria compared to those without prey. Our results thus point to very different physiological strategies for mixotrophic nutrition in these closely related chrysophyte species.

Autotrophic and heterotrophic acquisition of carbon and nitrogen by a mixotrophic chrysophyte established through stable isotope analysis.

Collectively, phagotrophic algae (mixotrophs) form a functional continuum of nutritional modes between autotrophy and heterotrophy, but the specific physiological benefits of mixotrophic nutrition differ among taxa. Ochromonas spp. are ubiquitous chrysophytes that exhibit high nutritional flexibility, although most species generally fall towards the heterotrophic end of the mixotrophy spectrum. We assessed the sources of carbon and nitrogen in Ochromonas sp. strain BG-1 growing mixotrophically via short-term stable isotope probing. An axenic culture was grown in the presence of either heat-killed bacteria enriched with 15N and 13C, or unlabeled heat-killed bacteria and labeled inorganic substrates (13C-bicarbonate and 15N-ammonium). The alga exhibited high growth rates (up to 2 divisions per day) only until heat-killed bacteria were depleted. NanoSIMS and bulk IRMS isotope analyses revealed that Ochromonas obtained 84-99% of its carbon and 88-95% of its nitrogen from consumed bacteria. The chrysophyte assimilated inorganic 13C-carbon and 15N-nitrogen when bacterial abundances were very low, but autotrophic (photosynthetic) activity was insufficient to support net population growth of the alga. Our use of nanoSIMS represents its first application towards the study of a mixotrophic alga, enabling a better understanding and quantitative assessment of carbon and nutrient acquisition by this species.

Effect of light and prey availability on gene expression of the mixotrophic chrysophyte, Ochromonas sp.

BACKGROUND: Ochromonas is a genus of mixotrophic chrysophytes that is found ubiquitously in many aquatic environments. Species in this genus can be important consumers of bacteria but vary in their ability to perform photosynthesis. We studied the effect of light and bacteria on growth and gene expression of a predominantly phagotrophic Ochromonas species. Axenic cultures of Ochromonas sp. were fed with heat-killed bacteria (HKB) and grown in constant light or darkness. RNA was extracted from cultures in the light or in the dark with HKB present (Light + HKB; Dark + HKB), and in the light after HKB were depleted (Light + depleted HKB). RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the growth or bacterial ingestion rates between algae grown in light or dark conditions. The availability of light led to a differential expression of only 8% of genes in the transcriptome. A number of genes associated with photosynthesis, phagotrophy, and tetrapyrrole synthesis was upregulated in the Light + HKB treatment compared to Dark + HKB. Conversely, the comparison between the Light + HKB and Light + depleted HKB treatments revealed that the presence of HKB led to differential expression of 59% of genes, including the majority of genes involved in major carbon and nitrogen metabolic pathways. Genes coding for unidirectional enzymes for the utilization of glucose were upregulated in the presence of HKB, implying increased glycolytic activities during phagotrophy. Algae without HKB upregulated their expression of genes coding for ammonium transporters, implying uptake of inorganic nitrogen from the culture medium when prey were unavailable. CONCLUSIONS: Transcriptomic results agreed with previous observations that light had minimal effect on the population growth of Ochromonas sp. However, light led to the upregulation of a number of phototrophy- and phagotrophy-related genes, while the availability of bacterial prey led to prominent changes in major carbon and nitrogen metabolic pathways. Our study demonstrated the potential of transcriptomic approaches to improve our understanding of the trophic physiologies of complex mixotrophs, and revealed responses in Ochromonas sp. not apparent from traditional culture studies.

Single-cell transcriptomics of small microbial eukaryotes: limitations and potential.

Single-cell transcriptomics is an emerging research tool that has huge untapped potential in the study of microbial eukaryotes. Its application has been tested in microbial eukaryotes 50 µm or larger, and it generated transcriptomes similar to those obtained from culture-based RNA-seq. However, microbial eukaryotes have a wide range of sizes and can be as small as 1 µm. Single-cell RNA-seq was tested in two smaller protists (8 and 15 µm). Transcript recovery rate was much lower and randomness in observed gene expression levels was much higher in single-cell transcriptomes than those derived from bulk cultures of cells. We found that the reason of such observation is that the smaller organisms had much lower mRNA copy numbers. We discuss the application of single-cell RNA-seq in studying smaller microbial eukaryotes in the context of these limitations.

Probing the evolution, ecology and physiology of marine protists using transcriptomics.

Protists, which are single-celled eukaryotes, critically influence the ecology and chemistry of marine ecosystems, but genome-based studies of these organisms have lagged behind those of other microorganisms. However, recent transcriptomic studies of cultured species, complemented by meta-omics analyses of natural communities, have increased the amount of genetic information available for poorly represented branches on the tree of eukaryotic life. This information is providing insights into the adaptations and interactions between protists and other microorganisms and macroorganisms, but many of the genes sequenced show no similarity to sequences currently available in public databases. A better understanding of these newly discovered genes will lead to a deeper appreciation of the functional diversity and metabolic processes in the ocean. In this Review, we summarize recent developments in our understanding of the ecology, physiology and evolution of protists, derived from transcriptomic studies of cultured strains and natural communities, and discuss how these novel large-scale genetic datasets will be used in the future.

Microbiomes of Muricea californica and M. fruticosa: Comparative Analyses of Two Co-occurring Eastern Pacific Octocorals.

Octocorals are sources of novel but understudied microbial diversity. Conversely, scleractinian or reef-building coral microbiomes have been heavily examined in light of the threats of climate change. Muricea californica and Muricea fruticosa are two co-occurring species of gorgonian octocoral abundantly found in the kelp forests of southern California, and thus provide an excellent basis to determine if octocoral microbiomes are host specific. Using Illumina MiSeq amplicon sequencing and replicate samples, we evaluated the microbiomes collected from multiple colonies of both species of Muricea to measure both inter- and intra-colony microbiome variabilities. In addition, microbiomes from overlying sea water and nearby zoanthids (another benthic invertebrate) were also included in the analysis to evaluate whether bacterial taxa specifically associate with octocorals. This is also the first report of microbiomes from these species of Muricea. We show that microbiomes isolated from each sample type are distinct, and specifically, that octocoral species type had the greatest effect on predicting the composition of the Muricea microbiome. Bacterial taxa contributing to compositional differences include distinct strains of Mycoplasma associated with either M. californica or M. fruticosa, an abundance of Spirochaetes observed on M. californica, and a greater diversity of γ-Proteobacteria associated with M. fruticosa. Many of the bacterial taxa contributing to these differences are known for their presence in photosymbiont-containing invertebrate microbiomes.

Gene expression characterizes different nutritional strategies among three mixotrophic protists.

Mixotrophic protists, i.e. protists that can carry out both phototrophy and heterotrophy, are a group of organisms with a wide range of nutritional strategies. The ecological and biogeochemical importance of these species has recently been recognized. In this study, we investigated and compared the gene expression of three mixotrophic protists, Prymnesium parvum, Dinobyron sp. and Ochromonas sp. under light and dark conditions in the presence of prey using RNA-Seq. Gene expression of the obligately phototrophic P. parvum and Dinobryon sp. changed significantly between light and dark treatments, while that of primarily heterotrophic Ochromonas sp. was largely unchanged. Gene expression of P. parvum and Dinobryon sp. shared many similarities, especially in the expression patterns of genes related to reproduction. However, key genes involved in central carbon metabolism and phagotrophy had different expression patterns between these two species, suggesting differences in prey consumption and heterotrophic nutrition in the dark. Transcriptomic data also offered clues to other physiological traits of these organisms such as preference of nitrogen sources and photo-oxidative stress. These results provide potential target genes for further exploration of the mechanisms of mixotrophic physiology and demonstrate the potential usefulness of molecular approaches in characterizing the nutritional modes of mixotrophic protists.

Changes in gene expression of Prymnesium parvum induced by nitrogen and phosphorus limitation.

Prymnesium parvum is a globally distributed prymnesiophyte alga commonly found in brackish water marine ecosystems and lakes. It possesses a suite of toxins with ichthyotoxic, cytotoxic and hemolytic effects which, along with its mixotrophic nutritional capabilities, allows it to form massive Ecosystem Disruptive Algal Blooms (EDABs). While blooms of high abundance coincide with high levels of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), reports of field and laboratory studies have noted that P. parvum toxicity appears to be augmented at high N:P ratios or P-limiting conditions. Here we present the results of a comparative analysis of P. parvum RNA-Seq transcriptomes under nutrient replete conditions, and N or P deficiency to understand how this organism responds at the transcriptional level to varying nutrient conditions. In nutrient limited conditions we found diverse transcriptional responses for genes involved in nutrient uptake, protein synthesis and degradation, photosynthesis, and toxin production. As anticipated, when either N or P was limiting, transcription levels of genes encoding transporters for the respective nutrient were higher than those under replete condition. Ribosomal and lysosomal protein genes were expressed at higher levels under either nutrient-limited condition compared to the replete condition. Photosynthesis genes and polyketide synthase genes were more highly expressed under P-limitation but not under N-limitation. These results highlight the ability of P. parvum to mount a coordinated and varied cellular and physiological response to nutrient limitation. Results also provide potential marker genes for further evaluating the physiological response and toxin production of P. parvum populations during bloom formation or to changing environmental conditions.

Gene expression in the mixotrophic prymnesiophyte, Prymnesium parvum, responds to prey availability.

The mixotrophic prymnesiophyte, Prymnesium parvum, is a widely distributed alga with significant ecological importance. It produces toxins and can form ecosystem disruptive blooms that result in fish kills and changes in planktonic food web structure. However, the relationship between P. parvum and its prey on the molecular level is poorly understood. In this study, we used RNA-Seq technology to study changes in gene transcription of P. parvum in three treatments with different microbial populations available as potential prey: axenic P. parvum (no prey), bacterized P. paruvm, and axenic P. parvum with ciliates added as prey. Thousands of genes were differentially expressed among the three treatments. Most notably, transcriptome data indicated that P. parvum obtained organic carbon, including fatty acids, from both bacteria and ciliate prey for energy and cellular building blocks. The data also suggested that different prey provided P. parvum with macro- and micro-nutrients, namely organic nitrogen in the form of amino acids from ciliates, and iron from bacteria. However, both transcriptomic data and growth experiments indicated that P. parvum did not grow faster in the presence of prey despite the gains in nutrients, although algal abundances attained in culture were slightly greater in the presence of prey. The relationship between phototrophy, heterotrophy and growth of P. parvum is discussed.

Metagenomic and lipid analyses reveal a diel cycle in a hypersaline microbial ecosystem.

Marine microbial communities experience daily fluctuations in light and temperature that can have important ramifications for carbon and nutrient cycling. Elucidation of such short time scale community-wide dynamics is hindered by system complexity. Hypersaline aquatic environments have lower species richness than marine environments and can be well-defined spatially, hence they provide a model system for diel cycle analysis. We conducted a 3-day time series experiment in a well-defined pool in hypersaline Lake Tyrrell, Australia. Microbial communities were tracked by combining cultivation-independent lipidomic, metagenomic and microscopy methods. The ratio of total bacterial to archaeal core lipids in the planktonic community increased by up to 58% during daylight hours and decreased by up to 32% overnight. However, total organism abundances remained relatively consistent over 3 days. Metagenomic analysis of the planktonic community composition, resolved at the genome level, showed dominance by Haloquadratum species and six uncultured members of the Halobacteriaceae. The post 0.8 µm filtrate contained six different nanohaloarchaeal types, three of which have not been identified previously, and cryo-transmission electron microscopy imaging confirmed the presence of small cells. Notably, these nano-sized archaea showed a strong diel cycle, with a pronounced increase in relative abundance over the night periods. We detected no eukaryotic algae or other photosynthetic primary producers, suggesting that carbon resources may derive from patchily distributed microbial mats at the sediment-water interface or from surrounding land. Results show the operation of a strong community-level diel cycle, probably driven by interconnected temperature, light abundance, dissolved oxygen concentration and nutrient flux effects.

De novo sequences of Haloquadratum walsbyi from Lake Tyrrell, Australia, reveal a variable genomic landscape.

Hypersaline systems near salt saturation levels represent an extreme environment, in which organisms grow and survive near the limits of life. One of the abundant members of the microbial communities in hypersaline systems is the square archaeon, Haloquadratum walsbyi. Utilizing a short-read metagenome from Lake Tyrrell, a hypersaline ecosystem in Victoria, Australia, we performed a comparative genomic analysis of H. walsbyi to better understand the extent of variation between strains/subspecies. Results revealed that previously isolated strains/subspecies do not fully describe the complete repertoire of the genomic landscape present in H. walsbyi. Rearrangements, insertions, and deletions were observed for the Lake Tyrrell derived Haloquadratum genomes and were supported by environmental de novo sequences, including shifts in the dominant genomic landscape of the two most abundant strains. Analysis pertaining to halomucins indicated that homologs for this large protein are not a feature common for all species of Haloquadratum. Further, we analyzed ATP-binding cassette transporters (ABC-type transporters) for evidence of niche partitioning between different strains/subspecies. We were able to identify unique and variable transporter subunits from all five genomes analyzed and the de novo environmental sequences, suggesting that differences in nutrient and carbon source acquisition may play a role in maintaining distinct strains/subspecies.

Comparative genomics of planktonic Flavobacteriaceae from the Gulf of Maine using metagenomic data.

BACKGROUND: The Gulf of Maine is an important biological province of the Northwest Atlantic with high productivity year round. From an environmental Sanger-based metagenome, sampled in summer and winter, we were able to assemble and explore the partial environmental genomes of uncultured members of the class Flavobacteria. Each of the environmental genomes represents organisms that compose less than 1% of the total microbial metagenome. RESULTS: Four partial environmental genomes were assembled with varying degrees of estimated completeness (37%-84% complete) and were analyzed from a perspective of gathering information regarding niche partitioning between co-occurring organisms. Comparative genomics revealed potentially important niche partitioning genomic variations, including iron transporters and genes associated with cell attachment and polymer degradation. Analysis of large syntenic regions helped reveal potentially ecologically relevant variations for Flavobacteriaceae in the Gulf of Maine, such as arginine biosynthesis, and identify a putative genomic island incorporating novel exogenous genes from the environment. CONCLUSIONS: Biogeographic analysis revealed flavobacteria species with distinct abundance patterns suggesting the presence of local blooms relative to the other species, as well as seasonally selected organisms. The analysis of genomic content for the Gulf of Maine Flavobacteria supports the hypothesis of a particle-associated lifestyle and specifically highlights a number of putative coding sequences that may play a role in the remineralization of particulate organic matter. And lastly, analysis of the underlying sequences for each assembled genome revealed seasonal and nonseasonal variants of specific genes implicating a dynamic interaction between individuals within the species.

Comparative transcriptome analysis of four prymnesiophyte algae.

Genomic studies of bacteria, archaea and viruses have provided insights into the microbial world by unveiling potential functional capabilities and molecular pathways. However, the rate of discovery has been slower among microbial eukaryotes, whose genomes are larger and more complex. Transcriptomic approaches provide a cost-effective alternative for examining genetic potential and physiological responses of microbial eukaryotes to environmental stimuli. In this study, we generated and compared the transcriptomes of four globally-distributed, bloom-forming prymnesiophyte algae: Prymnesium parvum, Chrysochromulina brevifilum, Chrysochromulina ericina and Phaeocystis antarctica. Our results revealed that the four transcriptomes possess a set of core genes that are similar in number and shared across all four organisms. The functional classifications of these core genes using the euKaryotic Orthologous Genes (KOG) database were also similar among the four study organisms. More broadly, when the frequencies of different cellular and physiological functions were compared with other protists, the species clustered by both phylogeny and nutritional modes. Thus, these clustering patterns provide insight into genomic factors relating to both evolutionary relationships as well as trophic ecology. This paper provides a novel comparative analysis of the transcriptomes of ecologically important and closely related prymnesiophyte protists and advances an emerging field of study that uses transcriptomics to reveal ecology and function in protists.

Seasonal fluctuations in ionic concentrations drive microbial succession in a hypersaline lake community.

Microbial community succession was examined over a two-year period using spatially and temporally coordinated water chemistry measurements, metagenomic sequencing, phylogenetic binning and de novo metagenomic assembly in the extreme hypersaline habitat of Lake Tyrrell, Victoria, Australia. Relative abundances of Haloquadratum-related sequences were positively correlated with co-varying concentrations of potassium, magnesium and sulfate, but not sodium, chloride or calcium ions, while relative abundances of Halorubrum, Haloarcula, Halonotius, Halobaculum and Salinibacter-related sequences correlated negatively with Haloquadratum and these same ionic factors. Nanohaloarchaea and Halorhabdus-related sequence abundances were inversely correlated with each other, but not other taxonomic groups. These data, along with predicted gene functions from nearly-complete assembled population metagenomes, suggest different ecological phenotypes for Nanohaloarchaea and Halorhabdus-related strains versus other community members. Nucleotide percent G+C compositions were consistently lower in community metagenomic reads from summer versus winter samples. The same seasonal G+C trends were observed within taxonomically binned read subsets from each of seven different genus-level archaeal groups. Relative seasonal abundances were also linked to percent G+C for assembled population genomes. Together, these data suggest that extreme ionic conditions may exert selective pressure on archaeal populations at the level of genomic nucleotide composition, thus contributing to seasonal successional processes. Despite the unavailability of cultured representatives for most of the organisms identified in this study, effective coordination of physical and biological measurements has enabled discovery and quantification of unexpected taxon-specific, environmentally mediated factors influencing microbial community structure.

New approaches indicate constant viral diversity despite shifts in assemblage structure in an Australian hypersaline lake.

It is widely stated that viruses represent the most significant source of biodiversity on Earth, yet characterizing the diversity of viral assemblages in natural systems remains difficult. Viral diversity studies are challenging because viruses lack universally present, phylogenetically informative genes. Here, we developed an approach to estimate viral diversity using a series of functional and novel conserved genes. This approach provides direct estimates of viral assemblage diversity while retaining resolution at the level of individual viral populations in a natural system. We characterized viral assemblages in eight samples from hypersaline Lake Tyrrell (LT), Victoria, Australia, using 39,636 viral contigs. We defined viral operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in two ways. First, we used genes with three different functional predictions that were abundantly represented in the data set. Second, we clustered proteins of unknown function based on sequence similarity, and we chose genes represented by three clusters with numerous members to define OTUs. In combination, diversity metrics indicated between 412 and 735 sampled populations, and the number of populations remained relatively constant across samples. We determined the relative representation of each viral OTU in each sample and found that viral assemblage structures correlate with salinity and solution chemistry. LT viral assemblages were near-replicates from the same site sampled a few days apart but differed significantly on other spatial and temporal scales. The OTU definition approach proposed here paves the way for metagenomics-based analyses of viral assemblages using ecological models previously applied to bacteria and archaea.