ABSTRACT: Systematics of ‘lithistid’ tetractinellid demosponges from the Tropical Western Atlantic – implications for phylodiversity and bathymetric distribution
Project description:Systematics of ‘lithistid’ tetractinellid demosponges from the Tropical Western Atlantic – implications for phylodiversity and bathymetric distribution
Project description:This dataset consists of 20 metaproteomic analyses of the Western Atlantic Ocean aboard the R/V Knorr KN210-04 DeepDOM expedition in 2013. Samples were collected by McLane pumps on GFF or GF75 filters, split, and frozen until analyses. Expedition metadata and co-sampled datasets are available at: https://www.bco-dmo.org/deployment/59057
Project description:An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) and large volume underwater pumps were used to collect microbial biomass from offshore waters of the Sargasso Sea, from surface waters and into the deep ocean. Seawater collection was performed along a transect in the western North Atlantic Ocean beginning near Bermuda and ending off the coast of Massachusetts, capturing metabolic signatures from oligotrophic, continental margin, and productive coastal ecosystems.
Project description:<p>The data are dissolved organic compounds from three stations sampled in the western Atlantic Ocean in 2013. Seawater samples spanning from the surface ocean to the seafloor were collected, filtered, acidified, and extracted using solid phase extraction with Bond Elut PPL cartridges. The extracts were separated using reversed phase chromatography and analyzed with ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry in negative ion mode. The resulting data are features, or a unique combination of mass-to -charge values and retention time. </p>
Project description:<p>Metabolites, or the small organic molecules that are synthesized by cells during metabolism, comprise a complex and dynamic pool of carbon in the ocean. They are an essential form of information, linking genotype to phenotype at the individual, population and community levels of biological organization. Characterizing metabolite distributions inside microbial cells and dissolved in seawater is essential to understanding the controls on their production and fate, as well as their roles in shaping marine microbial food webs. Here, we apply a targeted metabolomics method to quantify particulate and dissolved distributions of a suite of biologically relevant metabolites including vitamins, amino acids, nucleic acids, osmolytes, and intermediates in biosynthetic pathways along a latitudinal transect in the western Atlantic Ocean. We find that, in the euphotic zone, most particulate or intracellular metabolites positively co-vary with the most abundant microbial taxa. In contrast, dissolved metabolites exhibited greater variability with differences in distribution between ocean regions. Although fewer particulate metabolites were detected below the euphotic zone, molecules identified in the deep ocean may be linked to preservation of organic matter or adaptive physiological strategies of deep-sea microbes. Based on the identified metabolite distributions, we propose relationships between certain metabolites and microbial populations, and find that dissolved metabolite distributions are not directly related to their particulate abundances.</p>
Project description:Different populations of the same species survive different environments through local adaptation. Temperature is one of the most important driving forces that could result in local adaptation. Here, we studied the influence of extreme low temperature on the survival of two genetically and geographically distinct populations of the free-living Caenorhabditis briggsae. We found that Caenorhabditis briggsae strains of temperate origin had a cold resistant phenotype, while those originating from a tropical climate had reduced survival after cold treatment. Using this phenotypic difference between geographically diverse populations as a model for how species adapt to their local environment, we then analyzed the transcriptional profiles of two Caenorhabditis briggsae strains of tropical and temperate origin to find genes that are involved in survival after extreme cold. In summary, the response to the extreme low temperature that clearly distinguishes the temperate and tropical Caenorhabditis briggsae strains could serve as an excellent example for studying local adaption of species that show genetic separation associated with their geographical distribution.
Project description:The Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.) is one of the most important species in the Baltic Sea with high ecological and economical value. To explore the differences in adaptation to salinity between Baltic cod from different regions, western (Kiel Bight) and eastern (Gdańsk Bay) samples were analyzed through oligonucleotide microarray.
Project description:We designed a new specific mRNA microarray targeting a subset of genes (956) of the diazotrophs Richelia intracellularis and Calothrix rhizosoleniae (genomes RintRC01, RintHH01, RintHM01 and CalSC01) which associate with diatom hosts. The aim was to be able to describe the gene expressions of genes related to several metabolic pathways, specifically nitrogen fixation and how they possibly differed between the closely related strains based on environment and host association. In this study we focused on the RintRC01 and RintHH01. To better understand how the gene expression of nitrogen fixation genes relates to nitrogen fixation rates both gene expression and rate measurements were done in parallell.
Project description:Observational analysis suggests that the western tropical Pacific (WTP) sea surface temperature (SST) shows predominant variability over multidecadal time scales, which is unlikely to be explained by the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation. Here we show that this variability is largely explained by the remote Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO). A suite of Atlantic Pacemaker experiments successfully reproduces the WTP multidecadal variability and the AMO-WTP SST connection. The AMO warm SST anomaly generates an atmospheric teleconnection to the North Pacific, which weakens the Aleutian low and subtropical North Pacific westerlies. The wind changes induce a subtropical North Pacific SST warming through wind-evaporation-SST effect, and in response to this warming, the surface winds converge towards the subtropical North Pacific from the tropics, leading to anomalous cyclonic circulation and low pressure over the WTP region. The warm SST anomaly further develops due to the SST-sea level pressure-cloud-longwave radiation positive feedback. Our findings suggest that the Atlantic Ocean acts as a key pacemaker for the western Pacific decadal climate variability.
