Climate-driven succession in marine microbiome biodiversity and biogeochemical function

Abstract

Seasonal and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) warming result in similar ocean changes as predicted with climate change. Climate-driven environmental cycles have strong impacts on microbiome diversity, but impacts on microbiome function are poorly understood. We quantified changes in microbial genomic diversity and functioning over 11 years covering seasonal and ENSO cycles at a coastal site in the southern California Current. We observed seasonal oscillations between large genome lineages during cold, nutrient rich conditions in winter and spring versus small genome lineages, including Prochlorococcus and Pelagibacter, in summer and fall. Parallel interannual changes separated communities depending on ENSO condition. Biodiversity shifts translated into clear oscillations in microbiome functional potential. Ocean warming induced an ecosystem with less iron but more macronutrient stress genes, depressed organic carbon degradation potential and biomass, and elevated carbon-to-nutrient biomass ratios. The consistent microbial response observed across time-scales points towards large climate-driven changes in marine ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles.