Linking extreme seasonality and gene expression in Arctic marine protists

• Published in: Scientific Reports
• Main Authors: Wutkowska, Magdalena, Vader, Anna, Logares, Ramiro, Pelletier, Eric, Gabrielsen, Tove M.
• Other Authors: University Centre in Svalbard, Norwegian Research Council, Arctic University of Norway, Agencia Estatal de Investigación (España)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Publishing Group 2023
• Subjects: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans; seas and marine resources for sustainable development; Arctic; Norway; Svalbard; Climate change; polar night; University Centre in Svalbard; Arctic University of Norway; UiT The Arctic University of Norway
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/336957; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-41204-3

15 pages, 7 figures, 1 table, supplementary information https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-41204-3.-- Data availability: The raw data generated for this study are deposited in ENA, project ID: PRJEB58729. Raw data from Tara Oceans are available at EBI and GenBank under project IDs PRJEB9738 and PRJEB9739 At high latitudes, strong seasonal differences in light availability affect marine organisms and regulate the timing of ecosystem processes. Marine protists are key players in Arctic aquatic ecosystems, yet little is known about their ecological roles over yearly cycles. This is especially true for the dark polar night period, which up until recently was assumed to be devoid of biological activity. A 12 million transcripts catalogue was built from 0.45 to 10 μm protist assemblages sampled over 13 months in a time series station in an Arctic fjord in Svalbard. Community gene expression was correlated with seasonality, with light as the main driving factor. Transcript diversity and evenness were higher during polar night compared to polar day. Light-dependent functions had higher relative expression during polar day, except phototransduction. 64% of the most expressed genes could not be functionally annotated, yet up to 78% were identified in Arctic samples from Tara Oceans, suggesting that Arctic marine assemblages are distinct from those from other oceans. Our study increases understanding of the links between extreme seasonality and biological processes in pico- and nanoplanktonic protists. Our results set the ground for future monitoring studies investigating the seasonal impact of climate change on the communities of microbial eukaryotes in the High Arctic This research was funded by University Centre in Svalbard, as well as ConocoPhillips and Lundin Petroleum through The Northern Area Program and by the Norwegian Research Council (project number: 230970). The cost of sequencing was partly covered through Jan Christensens Legat. Open access funding was provided by UiT—The Arctic University of Norway, ...