Verónica Molina

High diversity of ammonia‐oxidizing archaea in permanent and seasonal oxygen‐deficient waters of the eastern South Pacific

The community structure of putative aerobic ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) was explored in two oxygen-deficient ecosystems of the eastern South Pacific: the oxygen minimum zone off Peru and northern Chile (11°S-20°S), where permanent suboxic and low-ammonium conditions are found at intermediate depths, and the continental shelf off central Chile (36°S), where seasonal oxygen-deficient and relatively high-ammonium conditions develop in the water column, particularly during the upwelling season. The AOA community composition based on the ammonia monooxygenase subunit A (amoA) genes changed according to the oxygen concentration in the water column and the ecosystem studied, showing a higher diversity in the seasonal low-oxygen waters. The majority of the archaeal amoA genotypes was affiliated to the uncultured clusters A (64%) and B (35%), with Cluster A AOA being mainly associated with higher oxygen and ammonium concentrations and Cluster B AOA with permanent oxygen- and ammonium-poor waters. Q-PCR assays revealed that AOA are an abundant community (up to 10(5) amoA copies ml(-1) ), while bacterial amoA genes from β proteobacteria were undetected. Our results thus suggest that a diverse uncultured AOA community, for which, therefore, we do not have any physiological information, to date, is an important component of the nitrifying community in oxygen-deficient marine ecosystems, and particularly in rich coastal upwelling ones.

Abundance and phylogenetic identity of archaeoplankton in the permanent oxygen minimum zone of the eastern tropical South Pacific

We assessed the abundance and molecular phylogeny of archaeoplankton in the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) of the eastern tropical South Pacific, using specific-probe hybridization and phylogenetic analysis of the SSU-rRNA gene. Euryarchaea from Marine Group-II (MG-II) were most abundant in the surface oxic layer, representing 4.0±2.0% of the total picoplankton, while crenarchaea from Group I.1a (G-I.1a) peaked at the oxyclines, with a relative abundance of 8.1±4.3% (upper oxycline). In most of the stations, the abundance of both the groups decreased at the core of the OMZ, where a secondary maximum in cell density is commonly observed. The majority of the phylotypes affiliated with one of three groups: MG-II, euryarchaeal Marine Group-III (MG-III) and G-I.1a (75.9%, 12.8% and 10.3%, respectively). While MG-II phylotypes were found throughout the water column and G-I.1a ones were predominantly found within the oxyclines, MG-III phylotypes came almost exclusively from the OMZ core. Higher archaeal richness was found within the OMZ, with some of the exclusive lineages grouping with sequences from the deep ocean and hydrothermal vents. Moreover, G-I.1a sequences from the OMZ grouped into a different subcluster from the aerobic ammonium-oxidizer Nitrosopumilus maritimus. Thus, the community structure of archaeoplankton in OMZs is rich and distinct, with G-I.1a members particularly prominent at the oxyclines.

Temporal and spatial variability of biological nitrogen fixation off the upwelling system of central Chile (35–38.5°S)

Although N2 fixation could represent a supplementary source of bioavailable nitrogen in coastal upwelling areas and underlying oxygen minimum zones (OMZs), the limited data available prevent assessing its variability and biogeochemical significance. Here we report the most extensive N2 fixation data set gathered to date in the upwelling area off central Chile (36°S). It covers interannual to high frequency time scales in an area of about 82,500 km2 in the eastern South Pacific (ESP). Because heterotrophic N2 fixation may be regulated by DOM availability in the ESP, we conducted experiments at different oxygen conditions and included DOM amendments in order to test diazotrophic activity. Rates in the euphotic zone showed strong temporal variability which resulted in values reaching 0.5 nmol L−1 d−1 in 2006 (average 0.32 ± 0.17 nmol L−1 d−1) and up to 126.8 nmol L−1 d−1 (average 24.75 ± 37.9 nmol L−1 d−1) in 2011. N2 fixation in subsurface suboxic conditions (1.5 ± 1.16 nmol L−1 d−1) also occurred mainly during late summer and autumn while virtually absent in winter. The diversity of diazotrophs was dominated by heterotrophs, with higher richness in surface compared to OMZ waters. Rates in oxygen depleted conditions could exceed values obtained in the euphotic layer, but rates were not dependent on the availability of dissolved organic matter. N2 fixation also showed a positive correlation with total chlorophyll and the C:N ratio of phytoplankton, but not to the P excess compared to N. We conclude that the diazotrophic community responds to the composition of phytoplankton rather than the extent of N deficiency and the availability of bulk DOM in this system.

Microbial communities and their biogeochemical role in the water column of the oxygen minimum zone in the eastern South Pacific

El los ultimo anos, nuestro grupo ha estado estudiando las comunidades microbianas de la columna de agua asociada a la zona de minima de oxigeno (ZMO) frente al norte de Chile y Peru, tratando de entender quienes son los principales involucrados en los ciclos biogeoquimicos de la ZMO y que estrategias metabolicas estan utilizando. Para ellos, combinamos tecnicas de citometria de flujo, moleculares y aproximaciones biogeoquimicas. La mayor parte de nuestro trabajo, hasta el momento, se ha focalizado en los microbios capaces de realizar fotosintesis oxigenica, como las cianobacterias, y aquellos involucrados en el ciclo del nitrogeno, como las bacterias desnitrificantes, nitrificantes y anammox. Tambien hemos comenzado a investigar la abundancia y diversidad microbiana en general. En cada caso, estamos encontrando que la ZMO alberga comunidades microbianas propias, ya sea desde una perspectiva filogenetica o funcional. En este trabajo presentaremos un resumen de nuestros principales resultados.

Dissolved Compounds Excreted by Copepods Reshape the Active Marine Bacterioplankton Community Composition

Copepods are important suppliers of bioreactive compounds for marine bacteria through fecal pellet production, sloppy feeding, and the excretion of dissolved compounds. However, the interaction between copepods and bacteria in the marine environment is poorly understood. We determined the nitrogen and phosphorus compounds excreted by copepods fed with two natural size-fractionated diets (<20-µm and 20–150-µm) in the upwelling zone of central/southern Chile in late summer and spring. We then assessed the biogeochemical response of the bacterial community and its structure, in terms of total and active cells, to enrichment by copepod-excreted dissolved compounds. Results revealed that copepods actively excreted nitrogen and phosphorus compounds, mainly in the form of ammonium and dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP), reaching excretion rates of 2.6 and 0.05 µmol L-1 h-1, respectively. In both periods, the maximum excretion rates were associated with the 20–150-µm size fraction, but particularly during spring, when a higher organic matter quality was observed in excretion products compared to late summer. There were higher excretion rates of dissolved free amino acids (DFAAs) from copepods fed with the <20-µm size fraction, mainly histidine (HIS) in late summer and glutamic acid (GLU) in spring. A shift in the composition of the active bacterial community was observed between periods and treatments, which was associated with the response of the common seawater surface phyla Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes. The specific bacterial activity (16S rRNA: rDNA) suggested a different response to the two size-fractionated diets. In late summer, Betaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes were stimulated by the treatment enriched with excretion products derived from the 20–150-µm and <20-µm size fractions, respectively. In spring, Alphaproteobacteria were active in the treatment enriched with the excretion products of copepods fed with the <20-µm size fraction, whereas they were inhibited in the treatment enriched with excretion products in the 20–150-µm size fraction. Our findings indicate that different copepod diets can have a significant impact on the quantity and quality of their excretion compounds, which can subsequently generate shifts in the active bacterial composition. The bacterial response is probably associated with common-opportunistic sea surface microbes that are adapted to rapidly reacting to environmental offers.