Differential responses of a coastal prokaryotic community to phytoplanktonic organic matter derived from cellular components and exudates

Abstract

The phytoplanktonic production and prokaryotic consumption of organic matter significantly contribute to marine carbon cycling. Organic matter released from phytoplankton via three processes (exudation of living cells, cell disruption through grazing, and viral lysis) shows distinct chemical properties. We herein investigated the effects of phytoplanktonic whole-cell fractions (WF) (representing cell disruption by grazing) and extracellular fractions (EF) (representing exudates) prepared from Heterosigma akashiwo, a bloom-forming Raphidophyceae, on prokaryotic communities using culture-based experiments. We analyzed prokaryotic community changes for two weeks. The shift in cell abundance by both treatments showed similar dynamics, reaching the first peak (~4.1×106 cells mL–1) on day 3 and second peak (~1.1×106 cells mL–1) on day 13. We classified the sequences obtained into operational taxonomic units (OTUs). A Bray-Curtis dissimilarity analysis revealed that the OTU-level community structure changed distinctively with the two treatments. Ten and 13 OTUs were specifically abundant in the WF and EF treatments, respectively. These OTUs were assigned as heterotrophic bacteria mainly belonging to the Alteromonadales (Gammaproteobacteria) and Bacteroidetes clades and showed successive dynamics following the addition of organic matter. We also analyzed the dynamics of these OTUs in the ocean using publicly available metagenomic data from a natural coastal bloom in Monterey Bay, USA. At least two WF treatment OTUs showed co-occurrence with H. akashiwo, indicating that the blooms of H. akashiwo also affect these OTUs in the ocean. The present results strongly suggest that the thriving and dead cells of uninfected phytoplankton differentially influence the marine prokaryotic community.