DISTINCT PATTERNS OF MARINE BACTERIAL COMMUNITIES IN THE SOUTH AND NORTH PACIFIC OCEANS

Abstract

Microbes are associated with a wide variety of ocean organisms and essential to the ocean in terms of biomass, phylogenetic diversity and ecosystem functioning. In the past few decades, there has been a world-wide increase in the reports of diseases affecting marine organisms including virus and bacteria. Accurate diagnosis and eventual treatment and prevention of infectious disease therefore require a basic knowledge of the composition and distribution of the microbial communities associated with healthy as well as diseased organisms. However, this type of community-based comparative analysis of the microbes associated with infectious diseases in marine organisms is not yet clearly understood, and a more comprehensive survey is required. In addition, biogeographical distribution mapping of marine microbes is necessary to understand the evolutionary and ecological processes that affect microbial diversity. Recently, genome sequencing approaches have been applied to characterize bacterial communities in ocean water masses 16S rRNA gene taq pyrosequencing was used to investigate the distribution patterns and diversity of bacterial communities associated with summer and winter water masses from Gosung Bay in the South Sea of Korea and Chuuk in Micronesia, which are in the North and South Pacific Oceans, respectively. Summer and winter sampling from each water mass revealed highly diverse bacterial communities containing diseases affecting marine organisms including virus and bacteria. Accurate diagnosis and eventual treatment and prevention of infectious disease therefore require a basic knowledge of the composition and distribution of the microbial communities associated with healthy as well as diseased organisms. However, this type of community-based comparative analysis of the microbes associated with infectious diseases in marine organisms is not yet clearly understood, and a more comprehensive survey is required. In addition, biogeographical distribution mapping of marine microbes is necessary to understand the evolutionary and ecological processes that affect microbial diversity. Recently, genome sequencing approaches have been applied to characterize bacterial communities in ocean water masses 16S rRNA gene taq pyrosequencing was used to investigate the distribution patterns and diversity of bacterial communities associated with summer and winter water masses from Gosung Bay in the South Sea of Korea and Chuuk in Micronesia, which are in the North and South Pacific Oceans, respectively. Summer and winter sampling from each water mass revealed highly diverse bacterial communities containing