Fig. 2: Functional community structure of the bathypelagic microbial communities.

Nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) of the microbial communities based on the functional compositional similarity (Bray–Curtis distances) among the 58 samples in the dataset, based on clusters of KEGG orthologous groups (KOs). a Size fraction is coded by the symbol (squares, particle-attached and circles, free-living prokaryotes) and b the main oceans and deep-oceanic basins by color codes (see legends).