Microbial community structure of the coastal SSA

The sea spray aerosol (SSA) is a well described, abundant habitat in open oceans. Yet little is known about their microbial composition, abundance and connectivity in coastal regions.

Narrowing this gap, Graham et al (2018) characterised and compared the SSA microbial composition between sand and water compositions across three physically varying Californian beaches. SSA, sand and water were sampled contemporaneously, followed by next generation sequencing to characterise microbes.

SSA and sand bacterial 16s rRNA concentrations varied amongst beaches. Bacterial diversity was similar between the SSA, sand and water across beaches. Beach SSA communities were all similar except one beach (Baker beach). SSA characterisation identified shared Operational taxonomic units (OTU) associated with biogeochemical cycling Planctomyces and pathogenic bacteria such as Enterococcus between beaches and water samples.

By comparing the coastal SSA among beaches, sand and water samples, the paper gives an insight into its connectivity. The characterisation of shared OUT’s further contributes in understanding the SSA ecological roles. Interactions between the coastal SSA, sand and water further support the model of SSA generation by breaking waves. However, interactions between the SSA and water could be compromised as the sea surface microlayer wasn’t sampled, which is strongly associated with SSA communities.

Graham, K. E., Prussin, A. J., Marr, L. C., Sassoubre, L. M., & Boehm, A. B. (2018). Microbial community structure of sea spray aerosols at three California beaches. FEMS microbiology ecology, 94(3), fiy005.