| Popis: |
Marine biogeochemical processes are mediated by microorganisms through protein encoding genes, some being solely present in prokaryotes. During the last decade, genomic site-specific and large-scale expeditions have discovered millions of genes, unveiling new putative functions and large gene phylogenetic heterogeneity. Nonetheless, little still is known about the genomic basis of key biogeochemical processes, the taxonomic groups mediating them and whether seasonal patterns occur across taxonomic levels. For these reasons, we conducted temporal analyses of the functional diversity for 18 key functional genes in a model coastal marine microbiome. We analyzed a 3-year metagenomic time-series from the Blanes Bay Microbial Observatory (NW Mediterranean Sea) through state-of-the-art omics’ tools and time series statistics. Using a new Protein-Level ASSembler (PLASS), based in assembling at the protein space, a large number of potentially new and potentially biogeochemically relevant genes were recovered, which were missed by standard metagenomic analyses. This allowed us to explore the seasonal trends and gene heterogeneity in various key genes involved in the four major marine biogeochemical cycles (carbon, phosphorus, sulfur and nitrogen). Preliminary results show some key functions as seasonal, although with heterogeneity across the different taxonomical ranks. Our results define the seasonality of gene presence in that coastal environment and are the basis to discuss the implications of the seasonality of such genes for ecosystem functioning |
