Enhanced nutrient supply promotes mutualistic interactions between cyanobacteria and bacteria in oligotrophic ocean

Abstract

Cyanobacteria can form complex interactions with heterotrophic microorganisms, but this relationship is susceptible to nutrient concentrations. Disentangling the cyanobacteria–bacteria interactions in relation to nutrient supply is essential to understanding their roles in geochemical cycles under global change. We hypothesize that enhanced nutrient supply in oligotrophic oceans can promote interactions among cyanobacteria and bacteria. Therefore, we investigated the planktonic bacteria and their interactions with cyanobacteria in relation to elevated nutrients caused by enhanced upwelling around a shallow and a deep seamount in the tropical western Pacific Ocean. We found obviously higher complexity of network occurred with significantly more cyanobacteria in the deep chlorophyll maximum layer of the shallow seamount when compared with that of the deep seamount. Cyanobacteria can shape bacterial interaction and community evenness in response to relatively high nutrient concentrations. The effects of the nutrients on cyanobacteria-related networks were further estimated based on the Tara Oceans data. Statistical analyses further showed a facilitative effect of nitrate concentrations on cyanobacteria–bacteria mutualistic interactions in the global oligotrophic ocean. By analysing the Tara Ocean macrogenomic data, we detected functional genes related to cyanobacteria–bacteria interactions in all samples, indicating the existence of a mutualistic relationship. Our results reveal cyanobacteria–bacteria interaction in response to nutrient elevation in oligotrophic ocean and highlight the potentially negative effects of global change on the bacterial community from the view of the bio-interaction.