Substrate-Controlled Succession of Marine Bacterioplankton Populations Induced by a Phytoplankton Bloom

Blooming Succession Algal blooms in the ocean will trigger a succession of microbial predators and scavengers. Teeling et al. (p. 608 ) used a combination of microscopy, metagenomics, and metaproteomics to analyze samples from a North Sea diatom bloom over time. Distinct steps of polysaccharide degradation and carbohydrate uptake could be assigned to clades of Flavobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria, which differ profoundly in their transporter profiles and their uptake systems for phosphorus. The phytoplankton/bacterioplankton coupling in coastal marine systems is of crucial importance for global carbon cycling. Bacterioplankton clade succession following phytoplankton blooms may be predictable enough that it can be included in models of global carbon cycling.