Bacterial Activity in South Pole Snow

ABSTRACT Large populations (200 to 5,000 cells ml −1 in snowmelt) of bacteria were present in surface snow and firn from the south pole sampled in January 1999 and 2000. DNA isolated from this snow yielded ribosomal DNA sequences similar to those of several psychrophilic bacteria and a bacterium whi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied and Environmental Microbiology
Main Authors: Carpenter, Edward J., Lin, Senjie, Capone, Douglas G.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Society for Microbiology 2000
Subjects:
South pole
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/aem.66.10.4514-4517.2000
https://journals.asm.org/doi/pdf/10.1128/AEM.66.10.4514-4517.2000
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Summary:ABSTRACT Large populations (200 to 5,000 cells ml −1 in snowmelt) of bacteria were present in surface snow and firn from the south pole sampled in January 1999 and 2000. DNA isolated from this snow yielded ribosomal DNA sequences similar to those of several psychrophilic bacteria and a bacterium which aligns closely with members of the genus Deinococcus , an ionizing-radiation- and desiccation-resistant genus. We also obtained evidence of low rates of bacterial DNA and protein synthesis which indicates that the organisms were metabolizing at ambient subzero temperatures (−12 to −17°C).

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