The lithic microbial ecosystems of Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys
Abstract We review the lithic microbial ecosystems of the McMurdo Dry Valleys as the main form of terrestrial colonization in this region, and assess the role of environmental controls such as temperature, solar radiation, water availability, wind, nutrient availability, salinity and the physicochem...
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0954102014000194 2024-04-07T07:47:49+00:00 The lithic microbial ecosystems of Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys De Los Ríos, Asunción Wierzchos, Jacek Ascaso, Carmen 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102014000194 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102014000194 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Antarctic Science volume 26, issue 5, page 459-477 ISSN 0954-1020 1365-2079 Geology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Oceanography journal-article 2014 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102014000194 2024-03-08T00:35:01Z Abstract We review the lithic microbial ecosystems of the McMurdo Dry Valleys as the main form of terrestrial colonization in this region, and assess the role of environmental controls such as temperature, solar radiation, water availability, wind, nutrient availability, salinity and the physicochemical properties of the colonized rock. Epilithic communities, especially those dominated by lichens, are able to withstand extreme environmental conditions but subsurface endolithic microhabitats provide more tolerant conditions. Endolithic microbial communities can be grouped into two main classes: eukaryotic communities (dominated by lichenized fungi and algae) and prokaryotic communities (dominated by cyanobacteria). Heterotrophic bacteria and non-lichenized algae and fungi (mainly black fungi) are also components of these communities. These lithobiontic microorganisms generally have effective mechanisms against freezing temperatures and desiccation. Extracellular polymeric substances play an important role not only in protecting microbial cells but also in community organization and in mitigating microenvironmental conditions. Antarctic lithobiontic communities are comprised of microbial consortia within which multiple interactions between the different biological and abiotic components are essential for microbial survival, whilst fossils and biomarkers provide evidence of earlier successful microbial life in Antarctic deserts. Finally, the uniqueness of the present lithobiont assemblages suggests they are the outcome of geographical isolation during the evolution of the continent and not merely the descendants of a subset of globally distributed taxa that have adapted to the extreme environmental conditions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Science McMurdo Dry Valleys Cambridge University Press Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys Antarctic Science 26 5 459 477 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
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crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
Geology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Oceanography |
spellingShingle |
Geology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Oceanography De Los Ríos, Asunción Wierzchos, Jacek Ascaso, Carmen The lithic microbial ecosystems of Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys |
topic_facet |
Geology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Oceanography |
description |
Abstract We review the lithic microbial ecosystems of the McMurdo Dry Valleys as the main form of terrestrial colonization in this region, and assess the role of environmental controls such as temperature, solar radiation, water availability, wind, nutrient availability, salinity and the physicochemical properties of the colonized rock. Epilithic communities, especially those dominated by lichens, are able to withstand extreme environmental conditions but subsurface endolithic microhabitats provide more tolerant conditions. Endolithic microbial communities can be grouped into two main classes: eukaryotic communities (dominated by lichenized fungi and algae) and prokaryotic communities (dominated by cyanobacteria). Heterotrophic bacteria and non-lichenized algae and fungi (mainly black fungi) are also components of these communities. These lithobiontic microorganisms generally have effective mechanisms against freezing temperatures and desiccation. Extracellular polymeric substances play an important role not only in protecting microbial cells but also in community organization and in mitigating microenvironmental conditions. Antarctic lithobiontic communities are comprised of microbial consortia within which multiple interactions between the different biological and abiotic components are essential for microbial survival, whilst fossils and biomarkers provide evidence of earlier successful microbial life in Antarctic deserts. Finally, the uniqueness of the present lithobiont assemblages suggests they are the outcome of geographical isolation during the evolution of the continent and not merely the descendants of a subset of globally distributed taxa that have adapted to the extreme environmental conditions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
De Los Ríos, Asunción Wierzchos, Jacek Ascaso, Carmen |
author_facet |
De Los Ríos, Asunción Wierzchos, Jacek Ascaso, Carmen |
author_sort |
De Los Ríos, Asunción |
title |
The lithic microbial ecosystems of Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys |
title_short |
The lithic microbial ecosystems of Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys |
title_full |
The lithic microbial ecosystems of Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys |
title_fullStr |
The lithic microbial ecosystems of Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys |
title_full_unstemmed |
The lithic microbial ecosystems of Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys |
title_sort |
lithic microbial ecosystems of antarctica’s mcmurdo dry valleys |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102014000194 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102014000194 |
geographic |
Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Science McMurdo Dry Valleys |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Science McMurdo Dry Valleys |
op_source |
Antarctic Science volume 26, issue 5, page 459-477 ISSN 0954-1020 1365-2079 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102014000194 |
container_title |
Antarctic Science |
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26 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
459 |
op_container_end_page |
477 |
_version_ |
1795674960130211840 |