Unveiling abundance and distribution of planktonic B acteria and A rchaea in a polynya in A mundsen S ea, A ntarctica

Abstract

Summary Polynyas, areas of open water surrounded by sea ice, are sites of intense primary production and ecological hotspots in the A ntarctic O cean. This study determined the spatial variation in communities of prokaryotes in a polynya in the A mundsen S ea using 454 pyrosequencing technology, and the results were compared with biotic and abiotic environmental factors. The bacterial abundance was correlated with that of phytoplankton, P haeocystis spp. and diatoms. A cluster analysis indicated that the bacterial communities in the surface waters of the polynya were distinct from those under the sea ice. Overall, two bacterial clades, P olaribacter (20–64%) and uncultivated O ceanospirillaceae (7–34%), dominated the surface water in the polynya while the P elagibacter clade was abundant at all depths (7–42%). The archaeal communities were not as diverse as the bacterial communities in the polynya, and marine group I was dominant (> 80%). Canonical correspondence analysis indicated that the oceanographic properties facilitated the development of distinct prokaryotic assemblages in the polynya. This analysis of the diversity and composition of the psychrophilic prokaryotes associated with high phytoplankton production provides new insights into the roles of prokaryotes in biogeochemical cycles in high‐latitude polynyas.

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