Time and depth resolved archaea amoA genes at Station ALOHA

This dataset contains amoA gene abundances from Station ALOHA, the long-term ocean field site in the subtropical North Pacific. Whole seawater samples from six discrete depths (5, 25, 45, 75, 100, 125, 150, and 175 m) were collected on near-monthly Hawaii Ocean Time-series (HOT) program cruises. Seawater was filtered onto 0.2 mm pore size Supor filters to concentrate plankton biomass. DNA from filters was subsequently extracted using a Qiagen Plant and Tissue kit, with archaeal amoA genes quantified using digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) with the EvaGreen Mastermix. Two different sets of ddPCR primers were used for gene quantification by ddPCR: one primer set targeted amoA genes deriving from members of the Thaumarchea often termed “Group A”, while the other primer set targeted amoA genes deriving from Thaumarchea termed “Group B” (Beman JM, Popp BN, Francis CA. Molecular and biogeochemical evidence for ammonia oxidation by marine Crenarchaeota in the Gulf of California. ISME J. 2008 Apr;2(4):429-41. doi: 10.1038/ismej.2007.118.). Gene lower detection limits were determined as 3x the standard deviation of no template control reactions (nuclease-free water added instead of environmental DNA). The time stamp indicates the time of sample collection (when the hydrocast went into the water) and is reported in UTC.