Mycoplankton Biome Structure and Assemblage Processes Differ Along a Transect From the Elbe River Down to the River Plume and the Adjacent Marine Waters

Rivers are transport systems and supply adjacent ecosystems with nutrients. They also serve human well-being, for example as a source of food. Microorganism biodiversity is an important parameter for the ecological balance of river ecosystems. Despite the knowledge that fungi are key players in fres...

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Main Authors: Yanyan Yang, Stefanos Banos, Gunnar Gerdts, Antje Wichels, Marlis Reich
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-04-01
Series:Frontiers in Microbiology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.640469/full
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author Yanyan Yang
Stefanos Banos
Gunnar Gerdts
Antje Wichels
Marlis Reich
author_facet Yanyan Yang
Stefanos Banos
Gunnar Gerdts
Antje Wichels
Marlis Reich
author_sort Yanyan Yang
collection DOAJ
description Rivers are transport systems and supply adjacent ecosystems with nutrients. They also serve human well-being, for example as a source of food. Microorganism biodiversity is an important parameter for the ecological balance of river ecosystems. Despite the knowledge that fungi are key players in freshwater nutrient cycling and food webs, data on planktonic fungi of streams with higher stream order are scarce. This study aims to fill this knowledge gap by a fungi-specific 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene tag sequencing approach, investigating mycoplankton diversity in the Elbe River along a transect from shallow freshwater, to the estuary and river plume down to the adjacent marine waters (sections of seventh stream order number). Using multivariate analyses and the quantitative process estimates (QPEs) method, questions (i) of how mycoplankton communities as part of the river continuum change along the transect, (ii) what factors, spatial and environmental, play a role, and (iii) what assembly processes, such as selection or dispersion, operate along the transect, were addressed. The partitioning of mycoplankton communities into three significant distant biomes was mainly driven by local environmental conditions that were partly under spatial control. The assembly processes underlying the biomes also differed significantly. Thus, variable selection dominated the upstream sections, while undominated processes like ecological drift dominated the sections close to the river mouth and beyond. Dispersal played a minor role. The results suggest that the ecological versatility of the mycoplankton communities changes along the transect as response, for example, to a drastic change from an autotrophic to a heterotrophic system caused by an abrupt increase in the river depth. Furthermore, a significant salinity-dependent occurrence of diverse basal fungal groups was observed, with no clade found exclusively in marine waters. These results provide an important framework to help understand patterns of riverine mycoplankton communities and serve as basis for a further in-depth work so that fungi, as an important ecological organism group, can be integrated into models of, e.g., usage-balance considerations of rivers.
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spelling doaj.art-4638619f24d84fb1a4d70334509d85052022-12-21T23:40:28ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Microbiology1664-302X2021-04-011210.3389/fmicb.2021.640469640469Mycoplankton Biome Structure and Assemblage Processes Differ Along a Transect From the Elbe River Down to the River Plume and the Adjacent Marine WatersYanyan Yang0Stefanos Banos1Gunnar Gerdts2Antje Wichels3Marlis Reich4Molecular Ecology Group, University of Bremen, FB2, Bremen, GermanyMolecular Ecology Group, University of Bremen, FB2, Bremen, GermanyAlfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Biologische Anstalt Helgoland, Helgoland, GermanyAlfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Biologische Anstalt Helgoland, Helgoland, GermanyMolecular Ecology Group, University of Bremen, FB2, Bremen, GermanyRivers are transport systems and supply adjacent ecosystems with nutrients. They also serve human well-being, for example as a source of food. Microorganism biodiversity is an important parameter for the ecological balance of river ecosystems. Despite the knowledge that fungi are key players in freshwater nutrient cycling and food webs, data on planktonic fungi of streams with higher stream order are scarce. This study aims to fill this knowledge gap by a fungi-specific 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene tag sequencing approach, investigating mycoplankton diversity in the Elbe River along a transect from shallow freshwater, to the estuary and river plume down to the adjacent marine waters (sections of seventh stream order number). Using multivariate analyses and the quantitative process estimates (QPEs) method, questions (i) of how mycoplankton communities as part of the river continuum change along the transect, (ii) what factors, spatial and environmental, play a role, and (iii) what assembly processes, such as selection or dispersion, operate along the transect, were addressed. The partitioning of mycoplankton communities into three significant distant biomes was mainly driven by local environmental conditions that were partly under spatial control. The assembly processes underlying the biomes also differed significantly. Thus, variable selection dominated the upstream sections, while undominated processes like ecological drift dominated the sections close to the river mouth and beyond. Dispersal played a minor role. The results suggest that the ecological versatility of the mycoplankton communities changes along the transect as response, for example, to a drastic change from an autotrophic to a heterotrophic system caused by an abrupt increase in the river depth. Furthermore, a significant salinity-dependent occurrence of diverse basal fungal groups was observed, with no clade found exclusively in marine waters. These results provide an important framework to help understand patterns of riverine mycoplankton communities and serve as basis for a further in-depth work so that fungi, as an important ecological organism group, can be integrated into models of, e.g., usage-balance considerations of rivers.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.640469/fullaquatic fungiestuaryQPE analysissalinity gradientChytridiomycotashallow freshwater
spellingShingle Yanyan Yang
Stefanos Banos
Gunnar Gerdts
Antje Wichels
Marlis Reich
Mycoplankton Biome Structure and Assemblage Processes Differ Along a Transect From the Elbe River Down to the River Plume and the Adjacent Marine Waters
Frontiers in Microbiology
aquatic fungi
estuary
QPE analysis
salinity gradient
Chytridiomycota
shallow freshwater
title Mycoplankton Biome Structure and Assemblage Processes Differ Along a Transect From the Elbe River Down to the River Plume and the Adjacent Marine Waters
title_full Mycoplankton Biome Structure and Assemblage Processes Differ Along a Transect From the Elbe River Down to the River Plume and the Adjacent Marine Waters
title_fullStr Mycoplankton Biome Structure and Assemblage Processes Differ Along a Transect From the Elbe River Down to the River Plume and the Adjacent Marine Waters
title_full_unstemmed Mycoplankton Biome Structure and Assemblage Processes Differ Along a Transect From the Elbe River Down to the River Plume and the Adjacent Marine Waters
title_short Mycoplankton Biome Structure and Assemblage Processes Differ Along a Transect From the Elbe River Down to the River Plume and the Adjacent Marine Waters
title_sort mycoplankton biome structure and assemblage processes differ along a transect from the elbe river down to the river plume and the adjacent marine waters
topic aquatic fungi
estuary
QPE analysis
salinity gradient
Chytridiomycota
shallow freshwater
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.640469/full
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