scholarly journals Heterotrophic and Autotrophic Microbial Populations in Cold Perennial Springs of the High Arctic

2008 ◽  
Vol 74 (22) ◽  
pp. 6898-6907 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy N. Perreault ◽  
Charles W. Greer ◽  
Dale T. Andersen ◽  
Stefanie Tille ◽  
Georges Lacrampe-Couloume ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Heterotrophic Bacteria ◽  
Continuous Light ◽  
Sulfur Oxidation ◽  
Extreme Environment ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
16S Rrna Gene Analysis ◽  
Moderate Salinity

ABSTRACT The saline springs of Gypsum Hill in the Canadian high Arctic are a rare example of cold springs originating from deep groundwater and rising to the surface through thick permafrost. The heterotrophic bacteria and autotrophic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (up to 40% of the total microbial community) isolated from the spring waters and sediments were classified into four phyla (Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria) based on 16S rRNA gene analysis; heterotrophic isolates were primarily psychrotolerant, salt-tolerant, facultative anaerobes. Some of the isolates contained genes for thiosulfate oxidation (soxB) and anoxygenic photosynthesis (pufM), possibly enabling the strains to better compete in these sulfur-rich environments subject to long periods of illumination in the Arctic summer. Although leucine uptake by the spring water microbial community was low, CO2 uptake was relatively high under dark incubation, reinforcing the idea that primary production by chemoautotrophs is an important process in the springs. The small amounts of hydrocarbons in gases exsolving from the springs (0.38 to 0.51% CH4) were compositionally and isotopically consistent with microbial methanogenesis and possible methanotrophy. Anaerobic heterotrophic sulfur oxidation and aerobic autotrophic sulfur oxidation activities were demonstrated in sediment slurries. Overall, our results describe an active microbial community capable of sustainability in an extreme environment that experiences prolonged periods of continuous light or darkness, low temperatures, and moderate salinity, where life seems to rely on chemolithoautotrophy.

Freshwater microbial community diversity in a rapidly changing High Arctic watershed

2019 ◽  
Vol 95 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Antonia Cavaco ◽  
Vincent Lawrence St. Louis ◽  
Katja Engel ◽  
Kyra Alexandra St. Pierre ◽  
Sherry Lin Schiff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Microbial Community ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Active Layer ◽  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystem ◽  
Rrna Gene

ABSTRACT Current models predict increases in High Arctic temperatures and precipitation that will have profound impacts on the Arctic hydrological cycle, including enhanced glacial melt and thawing of active layer soils. However, it remains uncertain how these changes will impact the structure of downstream resident freshwater microbial communities and ensuing microbially driven freshwater ecosystem services. Using the Lake Hazen watershed (Nunavut, Canada; 82°N, 71°W) as a sentinel system, we related microbial community composition (16S rRNA gene sequencing) to physicochemical parameters (e.g. dissolved oxygen and nutrients) over an annual hydrological cycle in three freshwater compartments within the watershed: (i) glacial rivers; (ii) active layer thaw-fed streams and waterbodies and (iii) Lake Hazen, into which (i) and (ii) drain. Microbial communities throughout these freshwater compartments were strongly interconnected, hydrologically, and often correlated with the presence of melt-sourced chemicals (e.g. dissolved inorganic carbon) as the melt season progressed. Within Lake Hazen itself, water column microbial communities were generally stable over spring and summer, despite fluctuating lake physicochemistry, indicating that these communities and the potential ecosystem services they provide therein may be resilient to environmental change. This work helps to establish a baseline understanding of how microbial communities and the ecosystem services they provide in Arctic watersheds might respond to future climate change.

scholarly journals Riddles in the cold: Antarctic endemism and microbial succession impact methane cycling in the Southern Ocean

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1931) ◽  
pp. 20201134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew R. Thurber ◽  
Sarah Seabrook ◽  
Rory M. Welsh
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emission ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Methane Flux ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Methane Seep ◽  
Microbial Succession ◽  
Methane Cycle ◽  
16S Rrna Gene Analysis ◽  
Successional Stage

Antarctica is estimated to contain as much as a quarter of earth's marine methane, however we have not discovered an active Antarctic methane seep limiting our understanding of the methane cycle. In 2011, an expansive (70 m × 1 m) microbial mat formed at 10 m water depth in the Ross Sea, Antarctica which we identify here to be a high latitude hydrogen sulfide and methane seep. Through 16S rRNA gene analysis on samples collected 1 year and 5 years after the methane seep formed, we identify the taxa involved in the Antarctic methane cycle and quantify the response rate of the microbial community to a novel input of methane. One year after the seep formed, ANaerobic MEthane oxidizing archaea (ANME), the dominant sink of methane globally, were absent. Five years later, ANME were found to make up to 4% of the microbial community, however the dominant member of this group observed (ANME-1) were unexpected considering the cold temperature (−1.8°C) and high sulfate concentrations (greater than 24 mM) present at this site. Additionally, the microbial community had not yet formed a sufficient filter to mitigate the release of methane from the sediment; methane flux from the sediment was still significant at 3.1 mmol CH 4 m −2 d −1 . We hypothesize that this 5 year time point represents an early successional stage of the microbiota in response to methane input. This study provides the first report of the evolution of a seep system from a non-seep environment, and reveals that the rate of microbial succession may have an unrealized impact on greenhouse gas emission from marine methane reservoirs.

scholarly journals Physicochemical Parameters Affecting the Distribution and Diversity of the Water Column Microbial Community in the High-Altitude Andean Lake System of La Brava and La Punta

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 1181
Author(s):  
Reynaldo Núñez Salazar ◽  
Carlos Aguirre ◽  
Jorge Soto ◽  
Pamela Salinas ◽  
Carlos Salinas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
High Altitude ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Physicochemical Parameters ◽  
Microbial Community Composition ◽  
Atacama Desert ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
16S Rrna Gene Analysis ◽  
Lake System ◽  
Influence Of Water

Due to the low incidence of precipitation attributed to climate change, many high-altitude Andean lakes (HAALs) and lagoons distributed along the central Andes in South America may soon disappear. This includes La Brava–La Punta, a brackish lake system located south of the Salar de Atacama within a hyper-arid and halophytic biome in the Atacama Desert. Variations in the physicochemical parameters of the water column can induce changes in microbial community composition, which we aimed to determine. Sixteen sampling points across La Brava–La Punta were studied to assess the influence of water physicochemical properties on the aquatic microbial community, determined via 16S rRNA gene analysis. Parameters such as pH and the concentrations of silica, magnesium, calcium, salinity, and dissolved oxygen showed a more homogenous pattern in La Punta samples, whereas those from La Brava had greater variability; pH and total silica were significantly different between La Brava and La Punta. The predominant phyla were Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia. The genera Psychroflexus (36.85%), Thiomicrospira (12.48%), and Pseudomonas (7.81%) were more abundant in La Brava, while Pseudospirillum (20.73%) and Roseovarius (17.20%) were more abundant in La Punta. Among the parameters, pH was the only statistically significant factor influencing the diversity within La Brava lake. These results complement the known microbial diversity and composition in the HAALs of the Atacama Desert.

scholarly journals Microbial dynamics in a High-Arctic glacier forefield: a combined field, laboratory, and modelling approach

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Bradley ◽  
Sandra Arndt ◽  
Marie Šabacká ◽  
Liane G. Benning ◽  
Gary L. Barker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Numerical Model ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Community Dynamics ◽  
Heterotrophic Bacteria ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Soil Development ◽  
Arctic Soils ◽  
Field Laboratory ◽  
Modelling Approach

Abstract. Modelling the development of soils in glacier forefields is necessary in order to assess how microbial and geochemical processes interact and shape soil development in response to glacier retreat. Furthermore, such models can help us predict microbial growth and the fate of Arctic soils in an increasingly ice-free future. Here, for the first time, we combined field sampling with laboratory analyses and numerical modelling to investigate microbial community dynamics in oligotrophic proglacial soils in Svalbard. We measured low bacterial growth rates and growth efficiencies (relative to estimates from Alpine glacier forefields), and high sensitivity to soil temperature (relative to temperate soils). We used these laboratory measurements to inform parameter values in a new numerical model and significantly refined predictions of microbial and biogeochemical dynamics of soil development over a period of roughly 120 years. The model predicted the observed accumulation of autotrophic and heterotrophic biomass. Genomic data indicated that initial microbial communities were dominated by bacteria derived from the subglacial environment, whereas older soils hosted a mixed community of autotrophic and heterotrophic bacteria. This finding was validated by the numerical model, which showed that active microbial communities play key roles in fixing and recycling carbon and nutrients. We also demonstrated the role of allochthonous carbon and microbial necromass in sustaining a pool of organic material, despite high heterotrophic activity in older soils. This combined field, laboratory and modelling approach demonstrates the value of integrated model-data studies to understand and quantify the functioning of the microbial community in an emerging High-Arctic soil ecosystem.

Amorphous Si and Ca affect microbial community structure in arctic permafrost soils

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Stimmler ◽  
Jörg Schaller
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Microbial Community ◽  
Microbial Community Structure ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria ◽  
Arctic Soil ◽  
Permafrost Soils ◽  
Low Arctic ◽  
Amorphous Si

<p>Arctic warming affects the permafrost soils in different ways. Increase soil temperature and thawing of deeper horizons modifies the release of greenhouse gases (GHG) by release of nutrients. A lot of research was done about nutrient cycling of C, N and P, but little is known about the influence of Ca and amorphous Si (ASi) on this elements. To show the potential of this two elements in the Arctic systems, we analysed the effect of ASi and Ca on microbial community structure with next generation sequencing and qPCR. We analyzed fungal and bacterial community structure in two different soils from Greenland after incubation with different levels of ASi and Ca. Microbial community reacted differently in the high Arctic (Peary Land) and low Arctic soil (Disko Island) to changing concentrations of ASi and Ca. We found a significant change with linear correlation from gram-negative to gram-positive bacteria classes with increasing Ca and/or ASi levels. Further, abundance of Ascomycota and Basidiomycota changed. We postulate this changes as an important factor for changed GHG production as potential response to modified nutrient availability.</p>

scholarly journals On giant shoulders: How a seamount affects the microbial community composition of seawater and sponges

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathrin Busch ◽  
Ulrike Hanz ◽  
Furu Mienis ◽  
Benjamin Müller ◽  
Andre Franke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Microbial Community Composition ◽  
Geographic Location ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Amplicon Sequencing ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Rrna Gene

Abstract. Seamounts represent ideal systems to study the influence and interdependency of environmental gradients at a single geographic location. These topographic features represent a prominent habitat for various forms of life, including microbiota and macrobiota, spanning benthic as well as pelagic organisms. While it is known that seamounts are globally abundant structures, it still remains unclear how and to which extend the complexity of the seafloor is intertwined with the local oceanographic mosaic, biogeochemistry and microbiology of a seamount ecosystem. Along these lines, the present study aimed to explore whether and to which extend seamounts can have an imprint on the microbial community composition of seawater and of sessile benthic invertebrates, sponges. For our high-resolution sampling approach of microbial diversity (16S rRNA gene Amplicon sequencing) along with measurements of inorganic nutrients and other biogeochemical parameters, we focused on the Schulz Bank seamount ecosystem, a sponge ground ecosystem which is located on the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge. Seawater samples were collected at two sampling depths (mid-water: MW, and near-bed water: BW) from a total of 19 sampling sites. With a clustering approach we defined microbial micro-habitats within the pelagic realm at Schulz Bank, which were mapped onto the seamount's topography, and related to various environmental parameters (such as suspended particulate matter (SPM), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), silicate (SiO4−), phosphate (PO43−), ammonia (NH4+), nitrate (NO32−), nitrite (NO2

scholarly journals Diversity and distribution of marine heterotrophic bacteria from a large culture collection

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Sanz-Sáez ◽  
Guillem Salazar ◽  
Pablo Sánchez ◽  
Elena Lara ◽  
Marta Royo-Llonch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Heterotrophic Bacteria ◽  
Culture Collection ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Phenotypic Characterization ◽  
Genome Comparison ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Marine Microorganisms ◽  
The North ◽  
A New Species

Abstract Background: Isolation of marine microorganisms is fundamental to gather information about their physiology, ecology and genomic content. To date, most of the bacterial isolation efforts have focused on the photic ocean leaving the deep ocean less explored. We have created a marine culture collection of heterotrophic bacteria (MARINHET) using a standard marine medium comprising a total of 1561 bacterial strains, and covering a variety of oceanographic regions from different seasons and years, from 2009 to 2015. Specifically, our marine collection contains isolates from both photic (817) and aphotic layers (744), including the mesopelagic (362) and the bathypelagic (382), from the North Western Mediterranean Sea, the North and South Atlantic Ocean, the Indian, the Pacific, and the Arctic Oceans. We described the taxonomy, the phylogenetic diversity and the biogeography of a fraction of the marine culturable microorganisms to enhance our knowledge about which heterotrophic marine isolates are recurrently retrieved across oceans and along different depths. Results: The partial sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene of all isolates revealed that they mainly affiliate with the classes Alphaproteobacteria (35.9%), Gammaproteobacteria (38.6%), and phylum Bacteroidetes (16.5%). In addition, Alteromonas and Erythrobacter genera were found the most common heterotrophic bacteria in the ocean growing in solid agar medium. When comparing all photic, mesopelagic, and bathypelagic isolates sequences retrieved from different stations, 37% of them were 100% identical. This percentage increased up to 59% when mesopelagic and bathypelagic strains were grouped as the aphotic dataset and compared to the photic dataset of isolates, indicating the ubiquity of some bacterial isolates along different ocean depths. Finally, we isolated three strains that represent a new species, and the genome comparison and phenotypic characterization of two of these strains (ISS653 and ISS1889) concluded that they belong to a new species within the genus Mesonia. Conclusions: Overall, this study highlights the relevance of culture-dependent studies, with focus on marine isolated bacteria from different oceanographic regions and depths, to provide a more comprehensive view of the culturable marine bacteria as part of the total marine microbial diversity.

scholarly journals Microbes in High Arctic Snow and Implications for the Cold Biosphere

2011 ◽  
Vol 77 (10) ◽  
pp. 3234-3243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tommy Harding ◽  
Anne D. Jungblut ◽  
Connie Lovejoy ◽  
Warwick F. Vincent
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Mats ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Small Subunit ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Ssu Rrna ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ssu Rrna Gene ◽  
Aerial Transport

ABSTRACTWe applied molecular, microscopic, and culture techniques to characterize the microbial communities in snow and air at remote sites in the Canadian High Arctic (Ward Hunt Island, Ellesmere Island, and Cornwallis Island, latitudes 74 to 83oN). Members of theBacteriaandEukaryawere prevalent in the snow, and their small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene signatures indicated strong local aerial transport within the region over the preceding 8 months of winter snowpack accumulation. Many of the operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were similar to previously reported SSU rRNA gene sequences from the Arctic Ocean, suggesting the importance of local aerial transport processes for marine microbiota. More than 47% of the cyanobacterial OTUs in the snow have been previously found in microbial mats in the region, indicating that this group was also substantially derived from local sources. Viable cyanobacteria isolated from the snow indicated free exchange between the snow and adjacent mat communities. Other sequences were most similar to those found outside the Canadian Arctic but were from snow, lake and sea ice, glaciers and permafrost, alpine regions, Antarctica, and other regions of the Arctic, supporting the concept of global distribution of microbial ecotypes throughout the cold biosphere.

Cultivation and molecular monitoring of halophilic microorganisms inhabiting an extreme environment presented by a salt-attacked monument

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörg Ettenauer ◽  
Katja Sterflinger ◽  
Guadalupe Piñar
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Random Amplified Polymorphic Dna ◽  
Extreme Environment ◽  
Salt Crystallization ◽  
Porous Space ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Bacterial Strains ◽  
Halophilic Microorganisms ◽  
Culture Dependent

AbstractIn the last few years several investigations, based on culture-dependent and -independent techniques, have shown that salt-attacked stone surfaces present a habitat for extremely salt tolerant and moderate halophilic microorganisms. The inner walls of the Chapel of St. Virgil in Vienna (Austria) are an example of this phenomenon. Salt crusts cover most of the wall surfaces and salt crystallization in the porous space of the stone is causing decohesion of material and destruction of the original medieval paintings. The salt, together with the oligotrophic conditions, creates a very special and extreme habitat for halotolerant and halophilic microorganisms.In this study we investigate and monitor the cultivable and non-cultivable members of the microbial community present on the stonework of the medieval Chapel of St. Virgil after several severe disturbances of the microbial environment caused by desalination and disinfection treatments. With this finality, a combination of culture-dependent and -independent techniques was selected. The genetic diversity of a total of 104 bacterial strains isolated from the stone samples was analysed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Strains were distributed over 29 groups on the basis of their RAPD patterns. Only 19 groups were differentiated by DGGE. Comparative sequence analyses showed that the isolated strains belong to related species of the generaHalobacillus(47.1%),Bacillus(35.6%),Acinetobacter(4.8%),Halomonas(3.9%),Nesterenkonia(2.9%),Paucisalibacillus(2.9%),Paenibacillus(1%),Staphylococcus(1%) andExiguobacterium(1%).In addition, polymerase chain reaction DGGE fingerprints, in combination with the creation of clone libraries and sequencing analyses, were used to monitor and identifyArchaea, the non-cultivable fraction of the microbial community. The detected archaeal sequences were closely related to different uncultured archaeons as well as to the cultured generaHalococcusandHalalkalicoccusandHalobacterium.Cultivation and molecular analyses revealed the presence of highly specialized microorganisms that were able to thrive and survive after several desalination and disinfection treatments in the extreme environment presented by the salt-attacked Chapel of St. Virgil.

scholarly journals Woeseiales transcriptional response in Arctic fjord surface sediment

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joy Buongiorno ◽  
Katie Sipes ◽  
Kenneth Wasmund ◽  
Alexander Loy ◽  
Karen G. Lloyd
Keyword(s):  
16S Rrna ◽  
16S Rrna Gene ◽  
Marine Sediments ◽  
Sulfur Oxidation ◽  
Mrna Abundance ◽  
Nitrite Reduction ◽  
Gene Analysis ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
16S Rrna Gene Analysis ◽  
Arctic Fjord

AbstractDistinct lineages of Gammaproteobacteria clade Woeseiales are globally-distributed in marine sediments, based on metagenomic and 16S rRNA gene analysis. Yet little is known about why they are dominant or their ecological role in Arctic fjord sediments, where glacial retreat is rapidly imposing change. This study combined 16S rRNA gene analysis, metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), and genome-resolved metatranscriptomics uncovered the in situ abundance and transcriptional activity of Woeseiales with burial in four shallow sediment sites of Kongsfjorden and Van Keulenfjorden of Svalbard (79°N). We present five novel Woeseiales MAGs and show transcriptional evidence for metabolic plasticity during burial, including sulfur oxidation with reverse dissimilatory sulfite reductase (dsrAB) down to 4 cm depth and nitrite reduction down to 6 cm depth. A single stress protein, spore protein SP21 (hspA), had a tenfold higher mRNA abundance than any other transcript, and was a hundredfold higher on average than other transcripts. At three out of the four sites, SP21 transcript abundance increased with depth, while total mRNA abundance and richness decreased, indicating a shift in investment from metabolism and other cellular processes to build-up of spore protein SP21. The SP21 gene in MAGs was often flanked by genes involved in membrane-associated stress response. The ability of Woeseiales to shift from sulfur oxidation to nitrite reduction with burial into marine sediments with decreasing access to overlying oxic bottom waters, as well as enter into a dormant state dominated by SP21, may account for its ubiquity and high abundance in marine sediments worldwide, including those of the rapidly shifting Arctic.

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