Niche Partitioning of Labyrinthulomycete Protists Across Sharp Coastal Gradients and Their Putative Relationships With Bacteria and Fungi
While planktonic microbes play key roles in the coastal oceans, our understanding of heterotrophic microeukaryotes’ ecology, particularly their spatiotemporal patterns, drivers, and functions, remains incomplete. In this study, we focus on a ubiquitous marine fungus-like protistan group, the Labyrin...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-05-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Microbiology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.906864/full |
| _version_ | 1818006299890155520 |
|---|---|
| author | Ningdong Xie Ningdong Xie Zhao Wang Dana E. Hunt Dana E. Hunt Zackary I. Johnson Zackary I. Johnson Yaodong He Guangyi Wang Guangyi Wang |
| author_facet | Ningdong Xie Ningdong Xie Zhao Wang Dana E. Hunt Dana E. Hunt Zackary I. Johnson Zackary I. Johnson Yaodong He Guangyi Wang Guangyi Wang |
| author_sort | Ningdong Xie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | While planktonic microbes play key roles in the coastal oceans, our understanding of heterotrophic microeukaryotes’ ecology, particularly their spatiotemporal patterns, drivers, and functions, remains incomplete. In this study, we focus on a ubiquitous marine fungus-like protistan group, the Labyrinthulomycetes, whose biomass can exceed that of bacterioplankton in coastal oceans but whose ecology is largely unknown. Using quantitative PCR and amplicon sequencing of their 18S rRNA genes, we examine their community variation in repeated five-station transects across the nearshore-to-offshore surface waters of North Carolina, United States. Their total 18S rRNA gene abundance and phylotype richness decrease significantly from the resource-rich nearshore to the oligotrophic offshore waters, but their Pielou’s community evenness appears to increase offshore. Similar to the bacteria and fungi, the Labyrinthulomycete communities are significantly structured by distance from shore, water temperature, and other environmental factors, suggesting potential niche partitioning. Nevertheless, only several Labyrinthulomycete phylotypes, which belong to aplanochytrids, thraustochytrids, or unclassified Labyrinthulomycetes, are prevalent and correlated with cohesive bacterial communities, while more phylotypes are patchy and often co-occur with fungi. Overall, these results complement previous time-series observations that resolve the Labyrinthulomycetes as persistent and short-blooming ecotypes with distinct seasonal preferences, further revealing their partitioning spatial patterns and multifaceted roles in coastal marine microbial food webs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T05:00:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ea7e92efedd440dc9c0f27e5f59940ec |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-302X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T05:00:15Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Microbiology |
| spelling | doaj.art-ea7e92efedd440dc9c0f27e5f59940ec2022-12-22T02:11:01ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Microbiology1664-302X2022-05-011310.3389/fmicb.2022.906864906864Niche Partitioning of Labyrinthulomycete Protists Across Sharp Coastal Gradients and Their Putative Relationships With Bacteria and FungiNingdong Xie0Ningdong Xie1Zhao Wang2Dana E. Hunt3Dana E. Hunt4Zackary I. Johnson5Zackary I. Johnson6Yaodong He7Guangyi Wang8Guangyi Wang9Center for Marine Environmental Ecology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, ChinaMarine Laboratory, Duke University, Beaufort, NC, United StatesMarine Laboratory, Duke University, Beaufort, NC, United StatesMarine Laboratory, Duke University, Beaufort, NC, United StatesBiology Department, Duke University, Durham, NC, United StatesMarine Laboratory, Duke University, Beaufort, NC, United StatesBiology Department, Duke University, Durham, NC, United StatesCenter for Marine Environmental Ecology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, ChinaCenter for Marine Environmental Ecology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, ChinaKey Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), Tianjin University, Tianjin, ChinaWhile planktonic microbes play key roles in the coastal oceans, our understanding of heterotrophic microeukaryotes’ ecology, particularly their spatiotemporal patterns, drivers, and functions, remains incomplete. In this study, we focus on a ubiquitous marine fungus-like protistan group, the Labyrinthulomycetes, whose biomass can exceed that of bacterioplankton in coastal oceans but whose ecology is largely unknown. Using quantitative PCR and amplicon sequencing of their 18S rRNA genes, we examine their community variation in repeated five-station transects across the nearshore-to-offshore surface waters of North Carolina, United States. Their total 18S rRNA gene abundance and phylotype richness decrease significantly from the resource-rich nearshore to the oligotrophic offshore waters, but their Pielou’s community evenness appears to increase offshore. Similar to the bacteria and fungi, the Labyrinthulomycete communities are significantly structured by distance from shore, water temperature, and other environmental factors, suggesting potential niche partitioning. Nevertheless, only several Labyrinthulomycete phylotypes, which belong to aplanochytrids, thraustochytrids, or unclassified Labyrinthulomycetes, are prevalent and correlated with cohesive bacterial communities, while more phylotypes are patchy and often co-occur with fungi. Overall, these results complement previous time-series observations that resolve the Labyrinthulomycetes as persistent and short-blooming ecotypes with distinct seasonal preferences, further revealing their partitioning spatial patterns and multifaceted roles in coastal marine microbial food webs.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.906864/fullheterotrophic protistcoastal oceanenvironmental gradientspatial distributioncommunity structuremicrobial interaction |
| spellingShingle | Ningdong Xie Ningdong Xie Zhao Wang Dana E. Hunt Dana E. Hunt Zackary I. Johnson Zackary I. Johnson Yaodong He Guangyi Wang Guangyi Wang Niche Partitioning of Labyrinthulomycete Protists Across Sharp Coastal Gradients and Their Putative Relationships With Bacteria and Fungi Frontiers in Microbiology heterotrophic protist coastal ocean environmental gradient spatial distribution community structure microbial interaction |
| title | Niche Partitioning of Labyrinthulomycete Protists Across Sharp Coastal Gradients and Their Putative Relationships With Bacteria and Fungi |
| title_full | Niche Partitioning of Labyrinthulomycete Protists Across Sharp Coastal Gradients and Their Putative Relationships With Bacteria and Fungi |
| title_fullStr | Niche Partitioning of Labyrinthulomycete Protists Across Sharp Coastal Gradients and Their Putative Relationships With Bacteria and Fungi |
| title_full_unstemmed | Niche Partitioning of Labyrinthulomycete Protists Across Sharp Coastal Gradients and Their Putative Relationships With Bacteria and Fungi |
| title_short | Niche Partitioning of Labyrinthulomycete Protists Across Sharp Coastal Gradients and Their Putative Relationships With Bacteria and Fungi |
| title_sort | niche partitioning of labyrinthulomycete protists across sharp coastal gradients and their putative relationships with bacteria and fungi |
| topic | heterotrophic protist coastal ocean environmental gradient spatial distribution community structure microbial interaction |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.906864/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ningdongxie nichepartitioningoflabyrinthulomyceteprotistsacrosssharpcoastalgradientsandtheirputativerelationshipswithbacteriaandfungi AT ningdongxie nichepartitioningoflabyrinthulomyceteprotistsacrosssharpcoastalgradientsandtheirputativerelationshipswithbacteriaandfungi AT zhaowang nichepartitioningoflabyrinthulomyceteprotistsacrosssharpcoastalgradientsandtheirputativerelationshipswithbacteriaandfungi AT danaehunt nichepartitioningoflabyrinthulomyceteprotistsacrosssharpcoastalgradientsandtheirputativerelationshipswithbacteriaandfungi AT danaehunt nichepartitioningoflabyrinthulomyceteprotistsacrosssharpcoastalgradientsandtheirputativerelationshipswithbacteriaandfungi AT zackaryijohnson nichepartitioningoflabyrinthulomyceteprotistsacrosssharpcoastalgradientsandtheirputativerelationshipswithbacteriaandfungi AT zackaryijohnson nichepartitioningoflabyrinthulomyceteprotistsacrosssharpcoastalgradientsandtheirputativerelationshipswithbacteriaandfungi AT yaodonghe nichepartitioningoflabyrinthulomyceteprotistsacrosssharpcoastalgradientsandtheirputativerelationshipswithbacteriaandfungi AT guangyiwang nichepartitioningoflabyrinthulomyceteprotistsacrosssharpcoastalgradientsandtheirputativerelationshipswithbacteriaandfungi AT guangyiwang nichepartitioningoflabyrinthulomyceteprotistsacrosssharpcoastalgradientsandtheirputativerelationshipswithbacteriaandfungi |