Ocean Sampling Day was initiated by the EU-funded Micro B3 (Marine Microbial Biodiversity, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology) project to obtain a snapshot of the marine microbial biodiversity and function of the world’s oceans. It is a simultaneous global mega-sequencing campaign aiming to generate the largest standardized microbial data set in a single day. This will be achievable only through the coordinated efforts of an Ocean Sampling Day Consortium, supportive partnerships and networks between sites. This commentary outlines the establishment, function and aims of the Consortium and describes our vision for a sustainable study of marine microbial communities and their embedded functional traits.

The EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC (MSFD) defines a framework for Community actions in the field of marine environmental policy in order to achieve and/or maintain the Good Environmental Status (GES) of the European seas by 2020. Microbial assemblages (from viruses to microbial-sized metazoa) provide a major contribution to global biodiversity and play a crucial role in the functioning of marine ecosystems, but are largely ignored by the MSFD. Prokaryotes are only seen as "microbial pathogens," without defining their role in GES indicators. However, structural or functional prokaryotic variables (abundance, biodiversity and metabolism) can be easily incorporated into several MSFD descriptors (i.e. D1. biodiversity, D4. food webs, D5. eutrophication, D8. contaminants and D9. contaminants in seafood) with beneficial effects. This review provides a critical analysis of the current MSFD descriptors and illustrates the reliability and advantages of the potential incorporation of some prokaryotic variables within the set of indicators of marine environmental quality. Following a cost/benefit analysis against scientific and economic criteria, we conclude that marine microbial components, and particularly prokaryotes, are highly effective for detecting the effects of anthropogenic pressures on marine environments and for assessing changes in the environmental health status. Thus, we recommend the inclusion of these components in future implementations of the MSFD.

Rice paddies are indispensable for human food supply but emit large amounts of the greenhouse gas methane. Sulfur cycling occurs at high rates in these water-submerged soils and controls methane production, an effect that is increased by sulfate-containing fertilizers or soil amendments. We grew rice plants until their late vegetative phase with and without gypsum (CaSO4 ·2H2 O) amendment and identified responsive bacteria by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Gypsum amendment decreased methane emissions by up to 99% but had no major impact on the general phylogenetic composition of the bacterial community. It rather selectively stimulated or repressed a small number of 129 and 27 species-level operational taxonomic units (OTUs) (out of 1883-2287 observed) in the rhizosphere and bulk soil, respectively. Gypsum-stimulated OTUs were affiliated with several potential sulfate-reducing (Syntrophobacter, Desulfovibrio, unclassified Desulfobulbaceae, unclassified Desulfobacteraceae) and sulfur-oxidizing taxa (Thiobacillus, unclassified Rhodocyclaceae), while gypsum-repressed OTUs were dominated by aerobic methanotrophs (Methylococcaceae). Abundance correlation networks suggested that two abundant (>1%) OTUs (Desulfobulbaceae, Rhodocyclaceae) were central to the reductive and oxidative parts of the sulfur cycle.