Global phylogeography of marine Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus reveals a distinct partitioning of lineages among oceanic biomes

• Published in: Environmental Microbiology
• Main Authors: Zwirglmaier, Katrin, Jardillier, Ludwig, Ostrowski, Martin, Mazard, Sophie, Garczarek, Laurence, Vaulot, Daniel, Not, Fabrice, Massana, Ramon, Ulloa, Osvaldo, Scanlan, Dave J.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Blackwell Publishing 2008
• Subjects: Arctic; Indian; Ner; Pacific
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/14065; https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1462-2920.2007.01440.x

Marine cyanobacteria of the genera Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus are important contributors to global primary production occupying a key position at the base of marine food webs. The genetically diverse nature of each genus is likely an important reason for their successful colonization of vast tracts of the world’s oceans, a feature that has led to detailed analysis of the distribution of these genetic lineages at the local and ocean basin scale. Here, we extend these analyses to the global dimension, using new data from cruises in the Pacific, Indian and Arctic Oceans in combination with data from previous studies in the Atlantic Ocean, Arabian Sea, Red Sea and a circumnavigation of the southern hemisphere to form a data set which comprises most of the world’s major ocean systems. We show that the distribution patterns of Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus lineages are remarkably similar in different ocean systems with comparable environmental conditions, but producing a strikingly different ‘signature’ in the four major ocean domains or biomes (the Polar Domain, Coastal Boundary Domain, Trade Winds Domain and Westerly Winds Domain). This clearly reiterates the idea of spatial partitioning of individual cyanobacterial lineages, but at the global scale The authors thank the chief scientists, captains and crews of all the research vessels involved in obtaining data used in this study. Cruise work was supported by (i) the French PROOF programmes PROSOPE and BIOSOPE as well as the regional programme IMPALA (Région Bretagne), (ii) Spanish grants REN2001-4909-E/ANT and REN2002-10951-E/MAR and (iii) the Chilean National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research through the FONDAP programme, and by the Millennium Scientific Initiative through Grant EMBA P04/007. This study was supported by the UK Natural Environment Research Council via Grant NER/A/S/2002/00795 to D.J.S. Additional funding was also obtained via the ANR PICOFUNPAC project. Peer reviewed