Summer Abundance and Distribution of Proteorhodopsin Genes in the Western Arctic Ocean.

Proteorhodopsins (PR) are phylogenetically diverse and highly expressed proton pumps in marine bacterial communities. The phylogenetic diversity and expression of the main PR groups in polar off-shore, coastal and estuarine waters is poorly known and their abundance has not yet been reported. Here, we show that PR gene sequences of the southern Beaufort Sea including MacKenzie shelf and estuary are mainly affiliated to , and .