Investigating Bacterial Community Structure Over Temporal and Spatial Scales in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean
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INVESTIGATING BACTERIAL COMMUNITY STRUCTURE OVER TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL SCALES IN THE NORTHWEST ATLANTIC OCEAN by Jackie Zorz Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia February 2016 © Copyright by Jackie Zorz, 2016 Table of Contents List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... v List of Figures ................................................................................................................... vii Abstract ............................................................................................................................... x List of Abbreviations and Symbols Used .......................................................................... xi Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... xii Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Bacterial Community Structure of the Scotian Shelf ........................................ 5 2.0 Abstract ......................................................................................................................... 5 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 5 2.2 Materials and Methods ................................................................................................ 10 2.2.1 Sample Collection ................................................................................................ 10 2.2.2 Flow Cytometry.................................................................................................... 11 2.2.3 DNA Extraction.................................................................................................... 11 2.2.4 Amplification and Library Preparation ................................................................ 12 2.2.5 Illumina MiSeq Sequencing ................................................................................. 12 2.2.6 QIIME 16S rRNA Data Analysis ......................................................................... 13 2.2.7 Statistical Analysis and Data Visualization ......................................................... 15 2.3 Results ......................................................................................................................... 18 2.3.1 Environmental Parameters ................................................................................... 18 2.3.2 Community Composition and Alpha Diversity .................................................... 22 2.3.3 Beta Diversity, Biogeography and Patterns in Spatial Distribution ..................... 32 2.3.4 Multivariate Analysis of Abundance Data and Correlation Analyses ................. 39 2.3.5 Thebaud Platform Station – Comprehensive analysis of the bacterial community surrounding an offshore oil and gas platform ............................................ 45 2.4 Discussion ................................................................................................................... 48 2.4.1 Assumptions and Cautions when interpreting 16S rRNA sequencing data ......... 48 2.4.2 Bacterial Composition of Scotian Shelf ............................................................... 49 2.4.3 Beta Diversity, Biogeography and Patterns in Spatial Distribution ..................... 54 2.4.4 Multivariate Analysis of Abundance and Correlation Analyses .......................... 59 2.4.4.1. Group Effects: Season, MLD and Location ................................................. 64 2.4.4.2 Responses to Environmental Gradients ......................................................... 68 ii 2.4.4.3 Co-occurrence and Exclusion Patterns of Bacteria in the Scotian Shelf ....... 69 2.4.5 Thebaud Platform Station – Comprehensive analysis of the bacterial community surrounding an offshore oil and gas platform ............................................ 71 2.4.6 Conclusions .......................................................................................................... 73 Chapter 3: Investigating Bacterial Communities through Frequent Sampling of Deep Waters in the Bedford Basin, Canada ............................................................................... 75 3.0 Abstract ....................................................................................................................... 75 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 76 3.2 Materials and Methods ................................................................................................ 78 3.2.1 Sample Collection ................................................................................................ 78 3.2.2 DNA Extraction.................................................................................................... 79 3.2.3 Amplification and Library Preparation ................................................................ 79 3.2.4 Illumina MiSeq Sequencing ................................................................................. 80 3.2.5 QIIME 16S rRNA Data Analysis ......................................................................... 80 3.2.6 Statistical Analysis and Data Visualization ......................................................... 81 3.3 Results ......................................................................................................................... 83 3.3.1 Environmental Parameters ................................................................................... 83 3.3.2 Bacterial Community Analysis at 60 m – Alpha Diversity .................................. 86 3.3.3 Bacterial Community Analysis at 60 m – Beta Diversity .................................... 91 3.3.4 Dynamics of Individual OTUs – Rare and Indicator Species at 60 m ................. 95 3.3.5 Intrusion Events.................................................................................................. 107 3.3.5.1 First Intrusion – March 5th to March 12th 2014 (weeks 10-11) ................... 107 3.3.5.2 Second Intrusion – July 8th to July 15th (weeks 28-29) ............................... 108 3.4 Discussion ................................................................................................................. 111 3.4.1 Establishing a Microbial Time Series in the Bedford Basin through use of High Throughput Sequencing ..................................................................................... 111 3.4.2 Environmental Variation in the Bedford Basin in 2014 ..................................... 112 3.4.3 Bacterial Community Analysis at 60 m – Alpha and Beta Diversity................. 113 3.4.4 Dynamics of Individual OTUs – Rare and Indicator Species at 60 m ............... 116 3.4.5 Intrusion Events.................................................................................................. 121 3.4.6 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 124 Chapter 4: Conclusion..................................................................................................... 125 4.1 Comparing Scotian Shelf and Bedford Basin ........................................................... 125 iii 4.2 Future Directions ...................................................................................................... 128 4.2.1 Future Directions Scotian Shelf ......................................................................... 128 4.2.2 Future Directions Bedford Basin........................................................................ 129 References ....................................................................................................................... 131 Appendix 1: Supplementary Information ....................................................................... 149 iv List of Tables Table 2.1. Summary of taxonomic information from the OTUs that represented at least 5% of the community composition…………………………………………………15 Table 2.2. Parameters from the linear regressions of environmental variables and the Shannon Diversity Index for stations grouped by season………………………………..29 Table 2.3. Results from Partial Mantel tests of Spearman’s correlation between all environmental variables, geographic distance, and individual environmental variable gradients and abundance matrices performed on all sites………………………………..36 Table 2.4. Results from Partial Mantel Tests of Spearman’s correlation between all environmental variables, geographic distance, and individual environmental variable gradients, with abundance matrices split into season and depth groups…………………37 Table 2.5. Description of significant correlations associated with at least 2/3 of the taxa in each cluster from Figure 2.15. …………………………………………………..59 Table 2.6. Descriptions of select taxa that are significantly affected by group and environmental explanatory variables. …………………………………………………...60 Table 3.1. Results of temporal Mantel and Partial Mantel Tests of community similarity and environmental variables at 60 m depth…………………………………...94 Table 3.2. OTUs that fit the “Abundant Specialist” classification where they occur in less than 50% of samples at 60 m but become conditionally abundant as they reach over 1% of community abundance