Sinking particles promote vertical connectivity in the ocean microbiome Article Swipe
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· 2018
· Open Access
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· DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1802470115
· OA: W2810396277
Significance Prokaryotes dominate the living biomass and the biological diversity of the ocean, one of the largest ecosystems on earth. The sinking of particles is a widespread mechanism that transports materials to the deep ocean, with a significant role in the global carbon cycle. Whether this process constitutes a global dispersal pathway for prokaryotic diversity connecting surface communities to those in the dark ocean has never been tested. Here we show that surface and deep-sea prokaryotic communities are strongly connected, constituting a vast oceanic metacommunity where local assemblages are linked through the transport of sinking particles. This vertical dispersal, mediated mainly by the largest sinking particles, emerges as a fundamental process shaping the assembly and biogeography of deep ocean prokaryotic communities.
