Exploring links between bacteria, enzymes, and organic compounds in seawater and sea spray aerosol

Matthew Pendergraft, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA, United States, Francesca Malfatti, University of Trieste, Life Sciences Department, Trieste, Italy, Daniel Petras, University of California Riverside, Department of Biochemistry, Riverside, United States, Jeremiah Minich, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Marine Biology Research Division, La Jolla, CA, United States, Pedro Belda-Ferre, University of California San Diego, Department of Pediatrics, La Jolla, CA, United States, Sierra DeAngelo, Colgate University, Hamilton, United States, Clare Morris, University of California San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA, United States, Ke'La Kimble, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, United States, Mitchell Santander, University of California San Diego, Chemistry and Biochemistry, La Jolla, CA, United States, Pieter Dorrestein, University of California San Diego, Collaborative Mass Spectrometry Innovation Center, La Jolla, CA, United States, Lihini Aluwihare, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, United States, Rob Knight, University of California San Diego, Departments of Pediatrics and Computer Science & Engineering, La Jolla, CA, United States, Mohd Farooq Azam, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, India, Indore, India and Kimberly A Prather, University of California San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Department of Chemistry, La Jolla, CA, United States
Abstract:
Aerosols play vital roles in the Earth’s atmosphere, such as cloud seeding and ice nucleation. Sea spray aerosol (SSA) is the most abundant atmospheric aerosol by mass. SSA composition can determine the particles’ atmospheric roles, and SSA composition is determined by seawater organic matter composition. At ~1e6 cells/ml, heterotrophic bacteria disproportionately influence organic matter composition in numerous ways including through the release of ectoenzymes that hydrolyze various dissolved substrates. Previous research has indicated that bacterial-enzymatic activity in the water can influence SSA composition. Here we present the data integration from enzyme activity measurements determined with fluorogenic substrates, 16S amplicon sequencing, and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry investigations of seawater and SSA from phytoplankton bloom mesocosm experiments. Individually, these datasets inform us of the enzymatic, microbial, and chemical diversity and activity of these model ocean-atmosphere systems. But to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the drivers of SSA composition, we explore connections between the bacterial, enzymatic, and organic compound diversity of the seawater and SSA. We extend the results from these mesocosm experiments to their implications for the global ocean and atmosphere.
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