RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Large shifts among eukaryotes, bacteria, and archaea define the vertical organization of a lake sediment JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 057117 DO 10.1101/057117 A1 Christian Wurzbacher A1 Andrea Fuchs A1 Katrin Attermeyer A1 Katharina Frindte A1 Hans-Peter Grossart A1 Michael Hupfer A1 Peter Casper A1 Michael T. Monaghan YR 2016 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/06/16/057117.abstract AB Sediments are depositional areas where particles sink from water columns, but they are also microbial hotspots that play an important role in biogeochemical cycles. Unfortunately, the importance of both processes in structuring microbial community composition has not been assessed. We surveyed all organismic signals of the last ca. 170 years of sediment by metabarcoding, identifying global trends for eukaryotes, bacteria, archaea, and monitored 40 sediment parameters. We linked the microbial community structure to ongoing and historical environmental parameters and defined three distinct sediment horizons. This not only expands our knowledge of freshwater sediments, but also has profound implications for understanding the microbial community structure and function of sediment communities in relation to future, present, and past environmental changes.