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Jayakumar A, Peng X, Ward BB
Community composition of bacteria involved in fixed nitrogen loss in the water column of two major oxygen minimum zones in the ocean
The Eastern Tropical South Pacific and the Arabian Sea are 2 of the 3 permanent oxygen minimum zones (OMZs), where the majority of oceanic fixed nitrogen removal takes place. Community composition and abundance of microbes involved in nitrogen cycling in the water column above and within the oxygen depleted depths of these OMZs were investigated by targeting key genes in N transformation processes. The results of our work show that nirS gene-containing denitrifying bacteria dominate low oxygen depths, where anammox bacteria also exhibit maximum abundance. Hybridization with a functional gene microarray targeting the nirS gene showed that the communities were clearly distinct between the 2 geographically separated regions and also between the surface oxic waters and the oxygen depleted layer.
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