Seasonal patterns in Synechococcus pigment diversity at two temperate sites with contrasting oceanic regimes
Abstract
Competition for light has driven extensive pigment diversification among phytoplankton species, yet how this diversity shapes their spatiotemporal distribution in the field has been little studied so far. The cyanobacterium Synechococcus is an ideal model for addressing this issue, since this group has colonized most light spectral niches in marine environments. Here, we used an approach based on marker read recruitment from metagenomes to analyze the seasonal succession of Synechococcus pigment types (PTs) at two time-series stations off French coasts exhibiting contrasting oceanic regimes. Marked seasonality was observed at both sites. The shallow, permanently mixed English Channel site SOMLIT-Astan was characterized by an alternation between green-light specialists (PT 3a) peaking in spring, and chromatic acclimaters type A (PT 3dA) accounting for most of the Synechococcus community in winter. In contrast, the pigment diversity was much higher at the deep Mediterranean station BOUSSOLE. In the upper layer, the two main PTs were the blue light specialists (PT 3c), which dominated the community in summer and fall, and PT 3dA cells, which were more abundant in spring. The third most abundant PT was chromatic acclimaters type B (PT 3dB), which accounted for up to 15% of the surface community in late fall. Strikingly, PT 3dA was dominant at depth during most of the year. Multivariate analyses between PT abundances, clade abundances and environmental factors, notably water color indexes, suggested new associations between PTs to specific clades and ecological niches. This study provides novel insights for refining distribution models of Synechococcus PTs and phytoplankton groups in general.
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BibTeX
@misc{dufour2026seasonal,
title = {{Seasonal patterns in Synechococcus pigment diversity at two temperate sites with contrasting oceanic regimes}},
author = {Louison Dufour and Emile Faure and Frédéric Partensky and Francesco Mattei and Julia Uitz and Flavien Petit and Vincenzo Vellucci and Melek Golbol and Morgane Ratin and Bastian Gouriou and Martin Gachenot and Julia Clairet and Gregory Farrant and Mark Hoebeke and Erwan Corre and David Antoine and Anne-Claire Baudoux and Estelle Bigeard and Sarah Bureau and Jade Castel and Aurélie Chambouvet and Douglas Couet and Romain Cre’hriou and Colomban de Vargas and Céline Dimier and Florence Le Gall and Laure Guillou and Nicolas Henry and Fabienne Rigaut-Jalabert and Christian Jeanthon and Sarah Romac and Nathalie Simon and Jérémy Szymczak and Clara Trellu and Marie Walde and Anna Hickman and Stephanie Dutkiewicz and David Kehoe and Fabrice Not and Eric Thiébaut and Laurence Garczarek},
howpublished = {HAL},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.64898/2026.07.10.737521},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05760151v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Seasonal patterns in Synechococcus pigment diversity at two temperate sites with contrasting oceanic regimes
AU - Louison Dufour
AU - Emile Faure
AU - Frédéric Partensky
AU - Francesco Mattei
AU - Julia Uitz
AU - Flavien Petit
AU - Vincenzo Vellucci
AU - Melek Golbol
AU - Morgane Ratin
AU - Bastian Gouriou
AU - Martin Gachenot
AU - Julia Clairet
AU - Gregory Farrant
AU - Mark Hoebeke
AU - Erwan Corre
AU - David Antoine
AU - Anne-Claire Baudoux
AU - Estelle Bigeard
AU - Sarah Bureau
AU - Jade Castel
AU - Aurélie Chambouvet
AU - Douglas Couet
AU - Romain Cre’hriou
AU - Colomban de Vargas
AU - Céline Dimier
AU - Florence Le Gall
AU - Laure Guillou
AU - Nicolas Henry
AU - Fabienne Rigaut-Jalabert
AU - Christian Jeanthon
AU - Sarah Romac
AU - Nathalie Simon
AU - Jérémy Szymczak
AU - Clara Trellu
AU - Marie Walde
AU - Anna Hickman
AU - Stephanie Dutkiewicz
AU - David Kehoe
AU - Fabrice Not
AU - Eric Thiébaut
AU - Laurence Garczarek
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/13
PB - HAL
DO - 10.64898/2026.07.10.737521
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05760151v1
AB - Competition for light has driven extensive pigment diversification among phytoplankton species, yet how this diversity shapes their spatiotemporal distribution in the field has been little studied so far. The cyanobacterium Synechococcus is an ideal model for addressing this issue, since this group has colonized most light spectral niches in marine environments. Here, we used an approach based on marker read recruitment from metagenomes to analyze the seasonal succession of Synechococcus pigment types (PTs) at two time-series stations off French coasts exhibiting contrasting oceanic regimes. Marked seasonality was observed at both sites. The shallow, permanently mixed English Channel site SOMLIT-Astan was characterized by an alternation between green-light specialists (PT 3a) peaking in spring, and chromatic acclimaters type A (PT 3dA) accounting for most of the Synechococcus community in winter. In contrast, the pigment diversity was much higher at the deep Mediterranean station BOUSSOLE. In the upper layer, the two main PTs were the blue light specialists (PT 3c), which dominated the community in summer and fall, and PT 3dA cells, which were more abundant in spring. The third most abundant PT was chromatic acclimaters type B (PT 3dB), which accounted for up to 15% of the surface community in late fall. Strikingly, PT 3dA was dominant at depth during most of the year. Multivariate analyses between PT abundances, clade abundances and environmental factors, notably water color indexes, suggested new associations between PTs to specific clades and ecological niches. This study provides novel insights for refining distribution models of Synechococcus PTs and phytoplankton groups in general.
ER -