Distinct patterns of distribution, community assembly and cross-domain co-occurrence of planktonic archaea in four major estuaries of China.

Background: Archaea are key mediators of estuarine biogeochemical cycles, but comprehensive studies comparing archaeal communities among multiple estuaries with unified experimental protocols during the same sampling periods are scarce. Here, we investigated the distribution, community assembly, and cross-domain microbial co-occurrence of archaea in surface waters across four major estuaries (Yellow River, Yangtze River, Qiantang River, and Pearl River) of China cross climatic zones (~ 1,800 km) during the winter and summer cruises.

Results: The relative abundance of archaea in the prokaryotic community and archaeal community composition varied with estuaries, seasons, and stations (reflecting local environmental changes such as salinity).