Molecular Characterization of Water Column Microbial Populations within the Northern Gulf of Mexico Hypoxic Zone

The Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone displays spatial and temporal variability on seasonal, diurnal, and hourly timescales. The highly dynamic geochemistry can be a result of physical and chemical factors as well as pelagic microbial populations. As part of an ongoing project to determine the mechanisms controlling hypoxia and understand the biological factors within this region, shifts in the composition of the metabolically active microbial populations within the water column were characterized. Understanding these shifts provide information on microbial populations that have the potential to decrease oxygen concentrations through respiration and increase oxygen through photosynthesis. Temporal and spatial variations of metabolically active microbial populations were investigated along a well-studied 20 m isobath extending east of Terrebonne Bay to a location offshore from the Atchafalaya Bay. An RNA-based molecular characterization of the microbial population was used to determine the distribution of the metabolically active lineages. Bacterial SSU rRNA were pyrosequenced (Roche 454 FLX) providing over 700,000 sequences with an average read length of more than 400 bases. Known photosynthetic lineages varied in frequency of detection at depth and time of sampling, as was expected. Additional lineages with the capacity for suboxic metabolic processes were detected mid-water column associated with hypoxic water formation. These data suggest hypoxic conditions persist long enough in the mid-water to promote a physiological response within the microbial populations. In addition, temporal switches between photosynthesis and respiration should be considered when analyzing the extent of hypoxia. The techniques used provide a unique view of the biological mechanisms controlling hypoxia within the northern Gulf of Mexico.