Copepod-Associated Gammaproteobacterial Alkaline Phosphatases in the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre

Planktonic organisms may provide a niche to associated bacteria in the oligotrophic ocean. Bacterial fitness strategies in association with copepods – abundant planktonic crustaceans – were examined by sampling and incubation experiments in the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre (NASG). The bacterial metatranscriptome was dominated by Gammaproteobacteria and showed expression of complete bacterial pathways including chemotaxis, cell signaling, and alkaline phosphatase activity. Quantitative PCR and reverse transcriptase qPCR revealed the consistent presence and expression of alkaline phosphatase genes primarily by Vibrio spp. in the copepod association. Copepod-associated bacteria appear to respond to prevailing phosphorus limitation by using alkaline phosphatases to break down organophosphoesters, presumably originating from the copepods. The results suggest that the basin-wide tendency for phosphorus limitation in the North Atlantic Ocean is occurring at microscales in these nitrogen-enriched copepod microenvironments. The bacterial communities and their fitness strategies supported by associations with these abundant mesozooplankton are unique from the surrounding seawater and could have large-scale implications for biogeochemical cycling, marine food web structuring, and copepod and ecosystem health.