Niche partitioning of marine group I Crenarchaeota in the euphotic and upper mesopelagic zones of the East China Sea

Marine group I Crenarchaeota (MGI) represents a ubiquitous and numerically predominant microbial population in marine environments. An understanding of the spatial dynamics of MGI and its controlling mechanisms is essential for an understanding of the role of MGI in energy and element cycling in the ocean. In the present study, we investigated the diversity and abundance of MGI in the East China Sea (ECS) by analysis of crenarchaeal 16S rRNA gene, the ammonia monooxygenase gene amoA, and the biotin carboxylase gene accA. Quantitative PCR analyses revealed that these genes were higher in abundance in the mesopelagic than in the euphotic zone. In addition, the crenarchaeal amoA gene was positively correlated with the copy number of the MGI 16S rRNA gene, suggesting that most of the MGI in the ECS are nitrifiers. Furthermore, the ratios of crenarchaeal accA to amoA or to MGI 16S rRNA genes increased from the euphotic to the mesopelagic zone, suggesting that the role of MGI in carbon cycling may change from the epipelagic to the mesopelagic zones. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoretic profiling of the 16S rRNA genes revealed depth partitioning in MGI community structures. Clone libraries of the crenarchaeal amoA and accA genes showed both "shallow" and "deep" groups, and their relative abundances varied in the water column. Ecotype simulation analysis revealed that MGI in the upper ocean could diverge into special ecotypes associated with depth to adapt to the light gradient across the water column. Overall, our results showed niche partitioning of the MGI population and suggested a shift in their ecological functions between the euphotic and mesopelagic zones of the ECS.