Seasonal bloom dynamics and ecophysiology of the freshwater sister clade of SAR11 bacteria 'that rule the waves' (LD12)

Alphaproteobacteria are common members of marine bacterioplankton assemblages, but are believed to be rare in lacustrine systems. However, uncultured Alphaproteobacteria of the freshwater LD12 lineage form a tight monophyletic sister group with the numerically dominant bacteria in marine epipelagic waters, the SAR11 clade or genus Pelagibacter. Comparative rRNA sequence analysis reveals a global occurrence of LD12 bacteria in freshwater systems. The association of genotypic subclades with single-study systems moreover suggests a regional diversification. LD12 bacteria exhibit distinct and annually recurring spatio-temporal distribution patterns in prealpine lakes, as assessed by seasonally resolved vertical profiling and high-throughput cell counting. During the summer months, these ultramicrobacteria can form cell densities in the surface (epilimnetic) water layers that are comparable to those of their marine counterparts (>5 x 10(8) cells per l). LD12 bacteria had a pronounced preference for glutamine and glutamate over 7 other amino acids in situ, and they exhibited substantially higher uptake of these two substrates (and glycine) than the microbial assemblage in general. In addition, members of LD12 were also able to exploit other monomeric sources of organic carbon such as glucose, fructose or acetate. LD12 seemed to follow an oligotrophic lifestyle with slow but efficient uptake already at low substrate concentrations. Thus, LD12 bacteria do not only share phenotypic and metabolic traits with Pelagibacter, but also seem to thrive in the analogous spatiotemporal niche in freshwaters. The two groups together form one of the rare monophyletic lineages of ultramicrobacteria that have successfully traversed the barrier between marine and freshwater habitats. The ISME Journal (2011) 5, 1242-1252; doi:10.1038/ismej.2011.8; published online 17 March 201

Metagenomic Insights into the Evolution, Function, and Complexity of the Planktonic Microbial Community of Lake Lanier, a Temperate Freshwater Ecosystem ▿†

Lake Lanier is an important freshwater lake for the southeast United States, as it represents the main source of drinking water for the Atlanta metropolitan area and is popular for recreational activities. Temperate freshwater lakes such as Lake Lanier are underrepresented among the growing number of environmental metagenomic data sets, and little is known about how functional gene content in freshwater communities relates to that of other ecosystems. To better characterize the gene content and variability of this freshwater planktonic microbial community, we sequenced several samples obtained around a strong summer storm event and during the fall water mixing using a random whole-genome shotgun (WGS) approach. Comparative metagenomics revealed that the gene content was relatively stable over time and more related to that of another freshwater lake and the surface ocean than to soil. However, the phylogenetic diversity of Lake Lanier communities was distinct from that of soil and marine communities. We identified several important genomic adaptations that account for these findings, such as the use of potassium (as opposed to sodium) osmoregulators by freshwater organisms and differences in the community average genome size. We show that the lake community is predominantly composed of sequence-discrete populations and describe a simple method to assess community complexity based on population richness and evenness and to determine the sequencing effort required to cover diversity in a sample. This study provides the first comprehensive analysis of the genetic diversity and metabolic potential of a temperate planktonic freshwater community and advances approaches for comparative metagenomics