Diversity and community structure of marine microbes around the Benham Rise underwater plateau, northeastern Philippines

Microbes are central to the structuring and functioning of marine ecosystems. Given the remarkable diversity of the ocean microbiome, uncovering marine microbial taxa remains a fundamental challenge in microbial ecology. However, there has been little effort, thus far, to describe the diversity of m...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:PeerJ (San Francisco, CA) CA), 2018-05, Vol.6, p.e4781-e4781, Article e4781
Main Authors: Gajigan, Andrian P, Yñiguez, Aletta T, Villanoy, Cesar L, San Diego-McGlone, Maria Lourdes, Jacinto, Gil S, Conaco, Cecilia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
16S rRNA
Ammonia
Analysis
Benham Rise
Biodiversity
Biological Oceanography
Community structure
Deep water
Dispersal
Diversity
Marine ecosystems
Marine microbes
Marine microorganisms
Microbiology
Microbiomes
Microorganisms
Pelagic zone
rRNA 16S
Surface water
Water column
Water stratification
Zonation
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Microbes are central to the structuring and functioning of marine ecosystems. Given the remarkable diversity of the ocean microbiome, uncovering marine microbial taxa remains a fundamental challenge in microbial ecology. However, there has been little effort, thus far, to describe the diversity of marine microorganisms in the region of high marine biodiversity around the Philippines. Here, we present data on the taxonomic diversity of bacteria and archaea in Benham Rise, Philippines, Western Pacific Ocean, using 16S V4 rRNA gene sequencing. The major bacterial and archaeal phyla identified in the Benham Rise are Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Marinimicrobia, Thaumarchaeota and, Euryarchaeota. The upper mesopelagic layer exhibited greater microbial diversity and richness compared to surface waters. Vertical zonation of the microbial community is evident and may be attributed to physical stratification of the water column acting as a dispersal barrier. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) recapitulated previously known associations of taxa and physicochemical parameters in the environment, such as the association of oligotrophic clades with low nutrient surface water and deep water clades that have the capacity to oxidize ammonia or nitrite at the upper mesopelagic layer. These findings provide foundational information on the diversity of marine microbes in Philippine waters. Further studies are warranted to gain a more comprehensive picture of microbial diversity within the region.
ISSN:2167-8359
2167-8359
DOI:10.7717/peerj.4781