The unique chemistry of Eastern Mediterranean water masses selects for distinct microbial communities by depth

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Novel Blood Pressure Locus and Gene Discovery Using Genome-Wide Association Study and Expression Data Sets From Blood and the Kidney.

Elevated blood pressure is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and has a substantial genetic contribution. Genetic variation influencing blood pressure has the potential to identify new pharmacological targets for the treatment of hypertension. To discover additional novel blood pressure loci, we used 1000 Genomes Project-based imputation in 150 134 European ancestry individuals and sought significant evidence for independent replication in a further 228 245 individuals. We report 6 new signals of association in or near HSPB7, TNXB, LRP12, LOC283335, SEPT9, and AKT2, and provide new replication evidence for a further 2 signals in EBF2 and NFKBIA Combining large whole-blood gene expression resources totaling 12 607 individuals, we investigated all novel and previously reported signals and identified 48 genes with evidence for involvement in blood pressure regulation that are significant in multiple resources. Three novel kidney-specific signals were also detected. These robustly implicated genes may provide new leads for therapeutic innovation

Taxa summaries for samples.

<p>Taxa summaries showing the distribution of various classes in each sample. The top panel depicts the depth of each sample. The shape of the point corresponds to sampling station and the color corresponds to the water mass from which that sample was derived. The bottom panel depicts taxa summaries for each sample plotted in order of depth with the shallowest samples on the left of the plot and the deepest samples on the right. Points in the top panel correspond to the taxa bar below the point. The relative abundance of each class in each sample is plotted. The height of each bar represents the percentage that each taxa comprises in that community. The legend depicts only the most abundant classes in these samples. The bar representing the taxa summary for the sample collected directly above the North Alex Mud Volcano is indicated by an asterisk below the taxa summary.</p

PCA analysis of physical and geochemical data.

<p>Salinity, inorganic phosphate, nitrate, ammonia, total nitrogen, silicate, temperature, salinity, sulfate, dissolved oxygen, and NPOC were used to construct the PCA plot. Color of symbols indicates the water mass from which that sample was taken (black corresponds to AW, blue corresponds to LIW, and orange corresponds to EMDW). Shape of symbols corresponds to the station from which they were taken. The percent explained by each of the depicted principle components are listed on the axis.</p

Physical and geochemical parameters. Samples collected within the three water masses were reported together. Numbers in bold represent the mean value for that parameter. Numbers in parentheses represent the range of values.

<p>Physical and geochemical parameters. Samples collected within the three water masses were reported together. Numbers in bold represent the mean value for that parameter. Numbers in parentheses represent the range of values.</p

Microbial community analysis.

<p>(A) Box and whisker plot of Shannon diversity of the microbial community in each water mass. Shape of symbols corresponds to the station from which the samples were taken. Color of symbols corresponds to the depth from which the sample was taken. (B) Hierarchical clustering analysis of Bray-Curtis distances. Color of symbols corresponds to the water mass from which the samples were taken (black corresponds to AW, blue corresponds to LIW, and orange corresponds to EMDW). Shape of symbols corresponds to the station from which the samples were taken. (C) NMDS plot of weighted Unifrac distances. Color of symbols corresponds to the water mass from which the samples were taken (black corresponds to AW, blue corresponds to LIW, and orange corresponds to EMDW). Shape of symbols corresponds to the station from which the samples were taken. Vectors displaying the fit of environmental variables to the data are shown. Only vectors with p values of less than 0.05 are shown.</p

Indicator species analysis.

<p>Indicator species of various water masses are shown. Indicator values (IndVal) are shown next to the taxonomic information for the indicator taxa as indicated by IndVal. Size of symbol is proportional to the mean relative abundance in that water mass. Black symbols indicate for which water mass the taxon is an indicator. Gray symbols indicate water masses that contain a taxon, but for which that taxon is not an indicator taxa.</p

P values for ANOVA and Tukey HSD test comparing alpha diversity metrics for the three water masses in the Eastern Mediterranean.

<p>P values for ANOVA and Tukey HSD test comparing alpha diversity metrics for the three water masses in the Eastern Mediterranean.</p

PLFA data. Mean values of various PLFA categories are shown for the three water masses present in the Eastern Mediterranean.

<p>PLFA data. Mean values of various PLFA categories are shown for the three water masses present in the Eastern Mediterranean.</p

Site Characterization.

<p>(A) Map of sampling locations. Station 3 (red) is the North Alex Mud Volcano. Maps of sampling sites were prepared using the ODV software package [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0120605#pone.0120605.ref038" target="_blank">38</a>]. (B) CTD profile of Temperature and salinity for site 1 (depth 1230 m). Temperature measured in °C is shown in red. Salinity measured in Practical Salinity Units (psu) is shown in green. (C) Annotated T-S plot with data from the CTD profile of site 1. Three distinct water masses are visible below the surface mixed layer. The AW is characterized by water with salinities between 38.6 and 38.8 psu and temperatures between 16–18°C. The LIW is characterized by high salinity around 39.2 psu and temperatures around 16°C. The EMDW is characterized by waters with salinities near 38.8 and temperatures near 14°C. Visualization of CTD data was performed in R[<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0120605#pone.0120605.ref039" target="_blank">39</a>] using the oce package [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0120605#pone.0120605.ref037" target="_blank">37</a>]. (D) Cell counts as determined by AODC and PLFA as a function of depth. At each station samples were taken in each of the three water masses. Samples from each station are represented by different symbols. Cell counts as determined by AODC are indicated by closed symbols. Cell numbers as estimated by PLFA measurements are shown by open symbols. The depths corresponding to each water mass are marked on the right side of the plot. Biomass is reported at cells/ml of seawater.</p