The coexistence of diverse microbes in the open ocean is made possible by staggering the timing of nutrient uptake, according to a study published in by a group of researchers from 13 institutions, including the University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa.

Microorganisms are highly abundant on the ocean surface, reaching densities exceeding a billion organisms per liter. Collectively responsible for roughly half of global photosynthesis, various groups of microbes coexist while relying on limited nutrients, such as nitrogen and iron. Scientists have been puzzled about how this robust population of ocean microbes persists through relentless competition for scarce nutrients.

“This study shows the true strength of scientific collaboration where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts,” said Dave Karl, co-director of the ’s (SCOPE) based in the UH Mānoa (SOEST). “By bringing experts from different subdisciplines to work together we can address complex and challenging ecological questions that no one investigator or laboratory would be able to achieve.”

• See more UH News stories on SCOPE

A deep dive into microbial metabolism

The research team was led by Joshua Weitz, a professor at Georgia Tech. The study began in 2015 with scientists in SCOPE sailing to the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, Earth’s largest stretch of contiguous ocean, aboard the UH research vessel Kilo Moana. The research cruise ultimately yielded data on more than 65,000 unique genetic transcripts, metabolic markers and macromolecules over time in multiple types of organisms.

By integrating data on the timing of metabolic processes of different microbes in the surface ocean throughout the 24-hour light cycle—from the transcription of genes for metabolic proteins to the synthesis of compounds such as lipids—the researchers discovered that the coexistence of diverse microbes is shaped by the timing of uptake.

“The pressing matter of survival for many microorganisms at the surface is acquiring enough nitrogen,” said Daniel Muratore, a doctoral candidate in Quantitative Biosciences at Georgia Tech and one of three co-first authors of the study. “Since microbes need to acquire nitrogen to function, we might imagine that the particular microbial type that is best at acquiring nitrogen will ultimately win—because it’ll be able to grow faster than everything else. And yet that’s not the case.”

Interestingly, nitrogen uptake and assimilation had some of the most distributed timing throughout the day—with various groups doing similar metabolic processes at different times. Transcription of genes associated with iron uptake, another scarce resource in the open ocean, also took place at different times across species.

With staggered nitrogen uptake, Muratore points out that “instead of having to compete with the whole field, [microbes] only have to compete with the organisms that share that specific shift with them. Perhaps that’s one way that the competition is alleviated and can facilitate all of these diverse microbes being able to live off of the same nutrient source.”

“Furthermore, this new information on the coordinated activities of microbial communities may help us to better understand and anticipate changes that might occur as climate changes begin to impact, and perhaps disrupt, the normal functioning of microbial life in the sea,” said Karl.

This research is an example of UH Mānoa’s goal of (PDF), one of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.

This is one of several major projects that are currently underway in SCOPE.

A reception was held on the research vessel Kaʻimikai-O-Kanalo (“Heavenly Searcher of the Seas of Kanaloa”) just before she was sold this fall. Affectionately known to many as the K-O-K, the ship joined the fleet of UH marine expeditionary research vessels on January 15, 1994. Since then, K-O-K has been used across the Pacific Ocean on a variety of missions that included submersible operations, deployment of deep-sea moorings, hydrographic surveys and studies of marine biology, chemistry and climate change.

The original vessel was built by Mangrove Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Texas, in 1979 and was used for more than a decade for oil and gas exploration. Starting in 1992, UH oceanographer and director of the (HURL), Alex Malahoff, worked tirelessly to acquire and reconfigure this 185-foot offshore supply vessel to serve as a support ship for HURL’s two human-occupied submersibles, Makaliʻi and Pisces V, the remotely-operated vehicle RC V-150. After the vessel Makaliʻi was retired, K-O-K also supported the submersible Pisces IV.

Attendees at the reception included Beverly Malahoff, who christened the reconfigured R/V Kaʻimikai-O-Kanaloa when she emerged from Bender Shipbuilding and Repair Co. as a versatile 223–foot oceanographic research vessel with a cruising speed of 10 knots, a 15,000 nautical mile range, 50–day endurance, and space for 14 crew members and 19 scientists. The approximately $5 million conversion was funded by the state of �鶹��ý and NOAA, with the state holding the ship’s title.

K-O-K’s greatest accomplishments

K-O-K facilitated research in Hawaiian waters and across the Pacific Ocean by scientists from UH and around the world. Some of K-O-K’s greatest accomplishments using the HURL submersibles include , long-term monitoring of the changes and growth of Loʻihi seamount off �鶹��ý Island and finding dozens of new species in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

“In addition to enabling important discoveries and ocean monitoring efforts, the local access of K-O-K made available UH’s UNOLSM (University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System) and AGOR (Auxiliary General Oceanographic Research) vessels (previously R/V Moana Wave and now R/V Kilo Moana) for extended circum-Pacific expeditions,” said Brian Taylor, dean of the UH ����ԴDz� .

One of the most consistent users of K-O-K was the (HOT) program. From July 1999 through July 2018, 93 separate HOT cruises to the open-ocean Station ALOHA were conducted aboard K-O-K. The vessel was also used in �鶹��ý for numerous expeditions by the UH and the UH , including the Life Aquatic in the Volcanic Aftermath expedition in July 2018 to explore the effects of the Kīlauea eruption on the marine environment.

After 25 years of scientific voyages for UH, K-O-K was retired following her final expedition in July 2018 on the 304th cruise of the HOT program. In December, K-O-K was towed to Mexico by an ocean tug where she will be recycled and repurposed.

—By Marcie Grabowski

The has hit a major milestone in its critical research to observe and understand how the ocean responds to climate change.

On February 28, 2018, UH’s research vessel Kilo Moana returned from its 300th scientific expedition of the (HOT) program. Completion of 300 research cruises makes Station ALOHA, about 60 miles north of Oʻahu, one of the best-sampled places in the world’s oceans with a decades-long record of how the ocean responds to climate change.

UH has undertaken almost monthly research cruises for 30 years to the same observation area to observe and interpret habitat variability, and to observe and understand the impacts of climate variability and change on the marine ecosystem.

“It is really satisfying to reach this milestone, and to see the growing importance of the HOT program accomplishments,” said , UH oceanography professor and co-director of the . “Here we are at 30 years and counting. Each additional year of observations brings us closer to a fundamental understanding of how the ocean functions, and its relationships to climate.”

Invaluable documentation on progressive ocean acidification

On November 3, 1988, the scientists and crew aboard UH research vessel Moana Wave successfully established a deep ocean observation station dubbed ALOHA (A Long-term Oligotrophic Habitat Assessment) as the benchmark site for the HOT program. Karl and Roger Lukas, who at the time were both professors of oceanography in UH’s newly created (SOEST), led the expedition.

The primary objective of HOT was to obtain a long-term time-series of physical, biological and chemical observations at a location that was characteristic of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre habitat to address U.S. Global Change Research Program goals—to document and understand variability of ocean water masses and circulation; to determine the relationships between microbial community structure and function, including nutrient dynamics and carbon sequestration; and to measure carbon dioxide in upper ocean and changes in the capacity of the ocean to absorb it.

“Observing the ocean carefully, consistently, frequently and long enough to capture important modes of variability is very hard work that is occasionally rewarded with fundamental discoveries,” said Lukas, now a UH oceanography emeritus professor.

In addition to the monthly ship-based observations, HOT program scientists have access to real-time satellite-based remote observations, unattended mooring measurements, autonomous instrumented gliders and floats, and a cabled seafloor observatory with power and fiber optic internet connections back to Oʻahu. This has provided invaluable documentation on progressive ocean acidification, changes in seawater temperatures, and changes in plankton biodiversity.

“The HOT program is providing new understanding of fundamental ocean processes, even as those processes are being modified by human activities on a global scale,” said SOEST Dean . “It is essential to skillfully continue the HOT observations, experiments, data analysis and student training that we may monitor, and inform society how best to respond to, the changing ocean conditions.”

HOT program is UH’s floating classroom

In addition to its primary mission of ocean research, the HOT program has been an invaluable training ground for undergraduate and graduate students as “UH’s floating classroom,” Karl said. “Several of our former students, and their students, are now involved in HOT program research—so the HOT influence has now extended into the next generation of marine scientists.”

The success of the HOT program, to date, is a result of the coordinated, dedicated efforts of a large team of academic scientists, marine technicians and engineers, and the professional crews of the research vessels.

The HOT program receives primary funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation in partnership with the Simons Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the State of �鶹��ý.

—By Marcie Grabowski

Ocean , the University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa’s research site 60 miles north of Oʻahu has been designated a Milestones in Microbiology site by the (ASM). ASM Milestones in Microbiology program recognizes institutions and scientists that have made significant contributions toward advancing the microbial sciences.

This open-ocean research station “has played a fundamental role in defining the discipline of microbial oceanography, developing a comprehensive understanding of the sea and educating the public about the critical role of marine microbes in global ecosystems,” ASM officials noted in their citation.

Birthplace of microbial oceanography

While microbial oceanography was emerging as a field of inquiry, scientists at the UH Mānoa (SOEST) proposed a bold new program—the (HOT) research program—and selected Station ALOHA (A Long-term Oligotrophic Habitat Assessment) as the deep ocean site representative of the vast North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, one of Earth’s largest biomes. Since the program’s inception in 1988, the has been the major funding agency, with UH Mānoa and SOEST providing invaluable support including efficient operation of its oceanographic research vessels.

“It soon became a trans-disciplinary collaboration among individuals who traditionally did not interact (microbiologists, physical scientists, oceanographers, mathematicians and educators), and created unique opportunities for scientific discovery, knowledge transfer and outreach to society at large,” said David Karl, HOT co-founder, Victor and Peggy Brandstrom Pavel Professor of Ocean and Earth Science and director of the (C-MORE). “Station ALOHA may be viewed as the birthplace of microbial oceanography.”

Ocean microbes—small but mighty

Since 1988, teams of scientists have conducted pioneering research at Station ALOHA that has transformed the ecological understanding of the most abundant life forms in the sea—microorganisms. The teams have discovered complex microbial interactions, numerous novel microorganisms and unprecedented metabolic pathways; and have made significant contributions to the understanding of the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems.

Building on success

In 2006, the capacity of the HOT program was enhanced with the creation of the NSF-supported C-MORE, one of only 15 Science and Technology Centers in the nation. This multi-institutional collaboration was established to investigate the identities and impacts of microorganisms including their potential responses to climate change. In addition, C-MORE has an important education mission: to train a new breed of inter-disciplinary microbial oceanographers; to develop curricula at the undergraduate and graduate levels and to increase the number of students and teachers engaged in science and engineering, focusing on underrepresented groups, especially Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.

A third research program, the Simons Collaboration on Ocean Processes and Ecology (SCOPE), was created in July 2014, to complement the objectives of HOT and C-MORE. Discoveries await the SCOPE scientists who will investigate, in greater detail than ever before, the microbially-mediated processes that govern the flow of matter and energy at Station ALOHA.

Education and raising public awareness

Through public and private partnerships with the NSF, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Simons Foundation, Ocean Station ALOHA has increased public awareness of the science of microbial oceanography and its global importance.

“The value of Station ALOHA continues to increase with time: its initial beginnings as a place to quantify ocean change from shipboard sampling has steadily evolved to become the model site for integration of ocean research and education,” said Matt Church, SOEST oceanography professor and lead investigator of the HOT program. “Among the most successful examples of this integration is the international summer school developed as a partnership with the Agouron Institute in 2006. This school has trained more than 150 students in the growing discipline of microbial oceanography.”

In celebration

On November 17, 2015, UH Mānoa will host a commemoration ceremony wherein the ASM will present UH Mānoa with two Milestones in Microbiology plaques—one to be placed in the lobby of C-MORE Hale and the second to be displayed aboard the R/V Kilo Moana which makes frequent trips to Ocean Station ALOHA.

In conjunction, the inaugural lecture in the newly-established Pavel Distinguished Lecture Series, Waypoints in Microbial Oceanography, will be presented by Professor Rita Colwell, former director of NSF, on November 16, 2015. Both events will be open to the public.

—By Marcie Grabowski

Some of the world’s most accomplished leaders from academia, business, public affairs, the humanities and the arts have been elected members of the . Among those elected this year is David Karl, the Victor and Peggy Brandstrom Pavel chair in oceanography and director of the (C-MORE) at the .

include winners of the Nobel Prize and the Pulitzer Prize; MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowships; and Grammy, Emmy, Oscar and Tony Awards.

“I am humbled and honored by this announcement from the academy,” said Karl. “I have been very fortunate to be able to work with such great students, postdocs and staff here at UH, and with colleagues from around the world. I am also grateful for the outstanding support from the university leadership, and generous funding from the , the , the and the .”

Karl will join a diverse group of Academy members–including two who inspired him in his early life: Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney—at a ceremony on October 10, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

American Academy of Arts and Sciences honor

One of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies, the American Academy is also a leading center for independent policy research. Members contribute to academy publications and studies of science and technology policy, global security and international affairs, social policy and American institutions and the humanities, arts and education.

“We are honored to elect a new class of extraordinary women and men to join our distinguished membership,” said Don Randel, chair of the academy’s board of directors. “Each new member is a leader in his or her field and has made a distinct contribution to the nation and the world. We look forward to engaging them in the intellectual life of this vibrant institution.”

Microbial oceanography pioneer

For decades, Karl had been a leader in the field of microbial oceanography, even having a hand in creating the discipline. Karl, who joined the UH faculty in 1978, has spent much of his career building teams of scientists to tackle large, complex scientific questions.

• Additional honors for Karl— and

Though the organisms he studies are the smallest inhabitants of our planet, the implications of Karl’s research are huge. The , co-founded by Karl, provides a cornerstone in understanding of the ocean’s role in regulating climate and global nutrient cycles. And C-MORE, the NSF-supported Science and Technology Center Karl and colleagues established in 2006 at UH Mānoa, assesses marine microorganisms from genomes to biomes. Last year he and UH Mānoa colleague and academy member Ed DeLong established the (SCOPE) to enhance understanding of how microbes control the flow of energy and material in the open sea.

“David is a hugely productive long-time member of the UH Mānoa faculty. He has made exceptional contributions to our understanding of the role of microorganisms in the structure and function of the ocean ecosystems in the Pacific and around the world, said UH Mānoa Chancellor Robert Bley-Vroman.

“I look forward to continuing the important challenge of enhancing the public understanding of science, and to helping inspire and recruit the next generation of scientists,” Karl said. “There is plenty of hard work ahead. It should be an exciting next decade.”

Largest ever private award to UH funds microbial oceanography research

David Karl, the Victor and Peggy Brandstrom Pavel professor of oceanography and director of the (C-MORE) at the University of �鶹��ý has been honored with the 2015 DuPont Award in Applied and Environmental Microbiology from the , the largest professional life sciences society in the world. With this award, the American Society for Microbiology recognizes “outstanding accomplishment” in research and development in environmental microbiology.

“Science is a team sport,” said Karl. “The recognition of this award is shared with my many students, post-docs and staff who carry out much of the work, and through enduring collaborations with colleagues from around the world.”

However, for decades, Karl had been a leader in the field of microbial oceanography even having a hand in creating the discipline. Investigating the smallest inhabitants of our planet, Karl has logged more than 1,000 days conducting research at sea including 23 expeditions to Antarctica. In 1979 Karl participated in the first biology expedition to the Galapagos hydrothermal vents where microorganisms abound in the absence of sunlight.

• Related:

The global significance of microbes

Though the organisms he studies are small, the implications of Karl’s findings are huge. Karl co-founded the (HOT) program that has measured physical, biogeochemical and microbial characteristics at Station ALOHA every month for the past 26 years, providing a cornerstone in our understanding of the ocean’s role in regulating climate and global nutrient cycles, for example. In 2006, he led a team of scientists in the establishment of a new NSF-supported Science and Technology Center at UH. The center, C-MORE, conducts collaborative research on marine microorganisms from genomes to biomes, and has a vital training mission to help prepare the next generation of microbial oceanographers. Last year he and UH colleague Ed DeLong established the (SCOPE) to enhance understanding of how microbes control the flow of energy and material in the open sea.

Karl has written or co-authored more than 370 research papers and reviews, and he has received numerous awards and honors including the Alexander Agassiz Medal from the . Karl is also an elected member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

“My contributions to the field of microbial oceanography would not have been possible without funding from the National Science Foundation who have supported my research continuously since 1978, and the generous support from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Agouron Institute, the Simons Foundation, and the University of �鶹��ý,” said Karl.

In good company

The DuPont Award has been given annually since 1977 to some of the leading microbial ecologists, including two of Karl’s mentors Ken Nealson and Holger Jannasch; former director of the Rita Colwell; and UH oceanography professor Ed DeLong.

“I am both honored and humbled to receive the DuPont Award in environmental microbiology and to join the impressive list of previous award recipients,” said Karl.

The 2015 award will be presented to Karl on May 31 at a banquet at the ASM annual meeting in New Orleans. The award consists of a $2,500 cash prize, a commemorative piece, and $2,000 to defray travel expenses to the annual meeting made possible through the generosity of the DuPont Industrial Biosciences Company, the corporate sponsor of this award. The following day, he will deliver the annual DuPont Lecture “Microbial Oceanography; Challenges and Opportunities in a Sea of Change.”

Largest ever private award to UH funds microbial oceanography research

—By Marcie Grabowski

Researchers from the and colleagues found that microbial communities in different regions of the Pacific Ocean displayed strikingly similar daily rhythms in their metabolism despite inhabiting extremely different habitats—the nutrient-rich waters off California and the nutrient-poor waters north of �鶹��ý. Furthermore, in each location, the dominant photoautotrophs—light-loving bacteria that need solar energy to help them photosynthesize food from inorganic substances—appear to initiate a cascade effect wherein the other major groups of microbes perform their metabolic activities in a coordinated and predictable way.

As expected, different photoautotrophs dominated the coastal versus open ocean. In contrast, many other heterotrophic bacterial groups were common to both habitats. For the study—“—published this week in the , researchers monitored when, throughout the day, these microbes turn on and turn off genes that regulate key metabolic processes (referred to as “transcriptional patterns”). The bacterial groups common to both ecosystems displayed the same transcriptional patterns and daily rhythms—as if each group is performing its prescribed role at a precise time each and every day, even though these communities are separated by thousands of miles.

• Related:

“Our work suggests that these microbial communities broadly behave in a similar manner across entire ocean basins and that specific biological interactions between these groups are widespread in nature,” said Frank Aylward, post-doctoral scholar at the and lead author of the study.

Examining microbial communities in the wild

The investigation used a robotic sampler, the Environmental Sample Processor (ESP), recently developed by co-author Chris Scholin and his colleagues at the . Riding the same ocean currents as the microbes it follows, the ESP is uniquely equipped to harvest those microbes every few hours, so that researchers can measure exactly when different genes are turned on or off for many different species simultaneously. Using modern “next generation” genomic technologies Aylward and colleagues were then able to evaluate the daily gene expression cycles in microbial communities in the wild.

Generally microbes from coastal (California coast) and open-ocean (North Pacific subtropical gyre) waters have been thought of as completely distinct communities that are shaped by very different environmental conditions. Waters near �鶹��ý experience high levels of sunlight and warm temperatures year round, for example, while coastal California waters are colder and undergo marked seasonal transitions.

Results indicate order in the ocean

“Surprisingly, however, our work shows that these extremely different ecosystems exhibit very similar diel cycles, driven largely by sunlight and interspecies microbial interactions,” said Aylward, “This suggests that different microbial communities across the Pacific Ocean, and likely waters across the entire planet, behave in much more orderly ways than has previously been supposed,”

“There is a lot more order out there in the ocean than we had previously thought, on vast spatial scales,” remarked Edward DeLong, UH Mānoa professor of oceanography and senior author of the paper. “Each day, as sunlight hits the water, a very highly orchestrated cascade of species-specific activities takes place, with each microbe chiming in at a very precise time, each and every day. This sort of predictable pattern may allow us to better predict the specific timing of matter and energy transformations that are catalyzed by microbes on a daily basis.”

Because of the large volumes of carbon dioxide sequestered by microbes in the oceans, this work has important implications for understanding the factors that shape large-scale carbon cycling in the biosphere. Because interactions between microbial groups appeared to be conserved between environments, this work also has implications for understanding fundamental patterns of how the activities of microscopic life give rise to ecosystem-level phenomena at much larger scales.

Along with their collaborators in the newly established, UH-based initiative called the , the team hopes to achieve finer resolution sampling in space and time using improved robotic sampling devices currently being designed at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. This will help identify more precisely how microbes are interacting with each other in seawater and how they respond to environmental stimulus.

More on SCOPE

UH News video:

—By Marcie Grabowski

The has awarded Matthew Church, a oceanography associate professor, with this year’s for his broad-based research in microbial oceanography from genomes to biomes, effective training and mentorship of diverse international scholars, and unselfish community service.

The Yentsch-Schindler Early Career Award honors an early-career scientist for outstanding and balanced contributions to research, science training and broader societal issues such as resource management, conservation, policy and public education. The Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography recognizes Church as an emerging intellectual leader for the discipline. The award will be presented at the 2015 Aquatic Sciences Meeting in Granada, Spain, February 22–29.

More on Matthew Church

Church has served as lead investigator of the (HOT) program at UH Mānoa’s since 2009. Under his leadership, the HOT program continues to benefit the broader ocean science community and society at large through outreach and scientific education. He is also a senior investigator in the UH Mānoa and an inaugural investigator in the recently established .

He has demonstrated a breadth of expertise rare in even a highly experienced oceanographer, and even more so in an early career scientist. His broad-ranging, cross-disciplinary research has proven transformative in microbial oceanography. His research has provided significant contributions to the general understanding of the role of mesoscale processes of microbial distributions and function, and to the impacts of ocean acidification on microbial dynamics.

Church is also a valued teacher and mentor. He was key in the development and implementation of the University of �鶹��ý training course for advanced graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in microbial oceanography. This intensive summer course, funded by the , the and the , covers the breadth of microbial oceanography, and has already had a major impact in training the next generation of leaders.

He has contributed to over 50 scientific papers published in the top journals of the field, including , and has been cited more than 1660 times.

—By Marcie Grabowski

The announced that thanks to donors’ generosity, $98,583,866 was raised in fiscal year 2014 (July 1, 2013–June 30, 2014) to support University of �鶹��ý students, faculty, research and programs on all 10 UH campuses.

This record-breaking achievement was thanks in large part to the Simons Foundation and its $40 million award to Edward DeLong and David Karl, both UH Mānoa professors in the , to lead the . This was the largest private foundation gift UH has ever received.

“On behalf of the students and faculty on all 10 campuses who benefit every day from our donors’ strategic philanthropic investments, mahalo nui loa,” said Donna Vuchinich, president and CEO, UH Foundation. She continued, “Every day these gifts to UH open doors of opportunity to promising students, fuel meaningful research and innovation, teaching excellence, and programs that enrich our communities in so many ways. We are humbled by our donors’ generosity, and honored to serve as their philanthropic partner, and steward of their legacies.”

Ronald Ho, UH Foundation board chair concluded, “We are tremendously grateful to our donors and UH colleagues who are working together to help us address the challenges our state faces, and make the most out of innovation and research opportunities. We look forward to the year ahead, and building on this fundraising momentum to grow critical private support for �鶹��ý’s university.”

Interesting stats

• Of the $58.6 million raised (total without Simons Foundation gift), nearly 60 percent of funds raised came from local �鶹��ý corporations, foundations and individuals.
• Since 2002, the �鶹��ýFoundation has raised nearly $700 million to support �鶹��ýprograms and students.
• Ninety-nine percent of gifts raised are donor-directed. This means that donors decide how and where their gifts are used.

Chart below shows the areas donors chose to support when making their FY2014 gifts

Chart below shows who the donors were and how much they gave

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Imagine the open ocean as a microbial megacity, teeming with life too small to be seen. In every drop of water, hundreds of types of bacteria can be found. Now scientists have discovered that communities of these ocean microbes have their own daily cycles—not unlike the residents of a bustling city who tend to wake up, commute, work and eat at the same times.

What’s more, it’s not all about the sun. Light-loving photoautotrophs—bacteria that need solar energy to help them photosynthesize food from inorganic substances—have been known to sun themselves on a regular schedule. But in a new study——published in the July 11 issue of the journal , researchers working at Station ALOHA, a deep ocean study site 100 km north of Oʻahu, observed different species of free-living, heterotrophic bacteria turning on diel cycling genes at slightly different times—suggesting a wave of transcriptional activity that passes through the microbial community each day.

“I like to say they are singing in harmony,” said Edward F. DeLong, professor of oceanography at University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa and the head of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology team that made this discovery.

“For any given species, the gene transcripts for specific metabolic pathways turn on at the same time each day, which suggests a sort of temporal compartmentalization,” said DeLong, who was the first scientist to be hired by the University under the auspices of the . “It’s a biologically and biogeochemically relevant new result.”

The observations were made possible by advanced microbial community RNA sequencing techniques, which allow for whole-genome profiling of multiple species at once. The work was a collaboration between the and DeLong’s team, who together employed a free-drifting robotic Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) as part of a (C-MORE) research cruise at Station ALOHA. Riding the same ocean currents as the microbes it follows, the ESP is uniquely equipped to harvest the samples needed for this high-frequency, time-resolved analysis of microbial community dynamics.

What scientists saw was intriguing: different species of bacteria expressing different types of genes in different, but consistent, cycles—turning on, for example, the type of restorative genes needed to rebuild their solar-collecting powers at night, then ramping up with different gene activity to build new proteins during the day. “The regularity and timing of individual microbial activities is somewhat like a new shift of hourly workers punching in and out of the clock, day after day,” DeLong said.

The coordinated timing of gene firing across different species of ocean microbes could have important implications for energy transformation in the sea. Marine microbes are critically linked to ocean health and productivity. The mechanisms that regulate this periodicity remain to be determined.

But can you set your watch to it? DeLong says you can, but it matters whether you’re tracking the bacteria in the lab or out at sea. For example, maximal light levels at 23 meters depth at Station ALOHA were twice as high as light conditions that were previously used in experimental settings in the laboratory—which may have an effect on microbe activity and daily cycles. That’s part of why it’s so important to conduct this research in the actual open ocean environment.

This study was funded in part by the National Science Foundation and by a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Separately, in 2013, the Moore Foundation’s national awarded DeLong and UH Mānoa Professor David Karl $4.2 million to explore how the trillions of microscopic organisms at the base of the ocean’s food webs interact with each other and the environment. 

• UH News story:

DeLong aims to continue his groundbreaking in situ ocean research with support from the Moore Foundation and as co-director of the new a five-year $40 million collaboration funded by the largest private gift in UH history.

“There are some fundamental laws to be learned about how organisms interact, to make the system work better as a whole and be more efficient,” DeLong said. “At its base, that's one of the main things we’re after in SCOPE—these fundamental principles that make ecosystems work. These findings have tremendous applications in all sorts of arenas.”

• UH News video:

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—By Talia Ogliore