Data and analysis code used to experimentally evolve representatives of four phytoplankton functional types in co-culture with a heterotrophic bacterium under either present-day or predicted future pCO2 conditions

Abstract

The CO2 content of Earth's atmosphere is rapidly increasing due to human consumption of fossil fuels. Models based on short-term culture experiments predict that major changes will occur in marine phytoplankton communities in the future ocean, but these models rarely consider how the evolutionary potential of phytoplankton or interactions within marine microbial communities may influence these changes. Here we experimentally evolved representatives of four phytoplankton functional types (silicifiers, calcifiers, coastal cyanobacteria, and oligotrophic cyanobacteria) in co-culture with a heterotrophic bacterium, Alteromonas, under either present-day or predicted future pCO2 conditions. The data and analysis code in this dataset show that the genomes of all four phytoplankton as well as Alteromonas evolved over the course of the experiment. Mutations in oxidative stress related genes (PTOX and thioredoxin reductase) were ubiquitous in evolved cultures of Prochlorococcus, suggesting adaptation in response to the well-studied deficiencies of this genus in terms of stress resistance in culture. With the exception of Prochlorococcus, most phytoplankton genomes appeared to experience mostly purifying selection, but Alteromonas genomes showed strong evidence of directional selection, particularly in co-culture with eukaryotic phytoplankton. Metabolic pathways were under intense selection for Alteromonas, and in particular adaptation to co-culture with eukaryotes appeared to select for a shift from growth on organic acids using an abbreviated TCA cycle to growth on more complex substrates using the complete TCA cycle. This work provides new insights on how phytoplankton will respond to anthropogenic change and on the evolutionary mechanisms governing the structure and function of marine microbial communities.

For a complete list of measurements, refer to the full dataset description in the supplemental file 'Dataset_description.pdf'. The most current version of this dataset is available at: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/925872