Abstract:Nitrogen (N) is a key element for prokaryotes in the oceans and often limits phytoplankton primary production. An untested option to reduce prokaryotic N-demand under N-limitation is to reduce gene length. Here we show that in the sunlit Atlantic Ocean genes of the prokaryotic microbial communities in the permanently stratified N-limited (sub)tropics are up to 20% shorter than in N-replete regions further south and north. Average gene length (AGL) of major pelagic prokaryotic genera and two virus families corr… Show more
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