The spatial distribution and biogeochemical drivers of nitrogen cycle genes in an Antarctic desert
Antarctic deserts, such as the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV), represent extremely cold and dry environments. Consequently, MDV are suitable for studying the environment limits on the cycling of key elements that are necessary for life, like nitrogen. The spatial distribution and biogeochemical drivers o...
Published in: | Frontiers in Microbiology |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.927129 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.927129/full |
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crfrontiers:10.3389/fmicb.2022.927129 2024-05-12T07:56:34+00:00 The spatial distribution and biogeochemical drivers of nitrogen cycle genes in an Antarctic desert Pascoal, Francisco Areosa, Inês Torgo, Luís Branco, Paula Baptista, Mafalda S. Lee, Charles K. Cary, S. Craig Magalhães, Catarina Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.927129 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.927129/full unknown Frontiers Media SA https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Frontiers in Microbiology volume 13 ISSN 1664-302X Microbiology (medical) Microbiology journal-article 2022 crfrontiers https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.927129 2024-04-18T07:57:04Z Antarctic deserts, such as the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV), represent extremely cold and dry environments. Consequently, MDV are suitable for studying the environment limits on the cycling of key elements that are necessary for life, like nitrogen. The spatial distribution and biogeochemical drivers of nitrogen-cycling pathways remain elusive in the Antarctic deserts because most studies focus on specific nitrogen-cycling genes and/or organisms. In this study, we analyzed metagenome and relevant environmental data of 32 MDV soils to generate a complete picture of the nitrogen-cycling potential in MDV microbial communities and advance our knowledge of the complexity and distribution of nitrogen biogeochemistry in these harsh environments. We found evidence of nitrogen-cycling genes potentially capable of fully oxidizing and reducing molecular nitrogen, despite the inhospitable conditions of MDV. Strong positive correlations were identified between genes involved in nitrogen cycling. Clear relationships between nitrogen-cycling pathways and environmental parameters also indicate abiotic and biotic variables, like pH, water availability, and biological complexity that collectively impose limits on the distribution of nitrogen-cycling genes. Accordingly, the spatial distribution of nitrogen-cycling genes was more concentrated near the lakes and glaciers. Association rules revealed non-linear correlations between complex combinations of environmental variables and nitrogen-cycling genes. Association rules for the presence of denitrification genes presented a distinct combination of environmental variables from the remaining nitrogen-cycling genes. This study contributes to an integrative picture of the nitrogen-cycling potential in MDV. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys Frontiers (Publisher) Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys The Antarctic Frontiers in Microbiology 13 |
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Microbiology (medical) Microbiology |
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Microbiology (medical) Microbiology Pascoal, Francisco Areosa, Inês Torgo, Luís Branco, Paula Baptista, Mafalda S. Lee, Charles K. Cary, S. Craig Magalhães, Catarina The spatial distribution and biogeochemical drivers of nitrogen cycle genes in an Antarctic desert |
topic_facet |
Microbiology (medical) Microbiology |
description |
Antarctic deserts, such as the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV), represent extremely cold and dry environments. Consequently, MDV are suitable for studying the environment limits on the cycling of key elements that are necessary for life, like nitrogen. The spatial distribution and biogeochemical drivers of nitrogen-cycling pathways remain elusive in the Antarctic deserts because most studies focus on specific nitrogen-cycling genes and/or organisms. In this study, we analyzed metagenome and relevant environmental data of 32 MDV soils to generate a complete picture of the nitrogen-cycling potential in MDV microbial communities and advance our knowledge of the complexity and distribution of nitrogen biogeochemistry in these harsh environments. We found evidence of nitrogen-cycling genes potentially capable of fully oxidizing and reducing molecular nitrogen, despite the inhospitable conditions of MDV. Strong positive correlations were identified between genes involved in nitrogen cycling. Clear relationships between nitrogen-cycling pathways and environmental parameters also indicate abiotic and biotic variables, like pH, water availability, and biological complexity that collectively impose limits on the distribution of nitrogen-cycling genes. Accordingly, the spatial distribution of nitrogen-cycling genes was more concentrated near the lakes and glaciers. Association rules revealed non-linear correlations between complex combinations of environmental variables and nitrogen-cycling genes. Association rules for the presence of denitrification genes presented a distinct combination of environmental variables from the remaining nitrogen-cycling genes. This study contributes to an integrative picture of the nitrogen-cycling potential in MDV. |
author2 |
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Pascoal, Francisco Areosa, Inês Torgo, Luís Branco, Paula Baptista, Mafalda S. Lee, Charles K. Cary, S. Craig Magalhães, Catarina |
author_facet |
Pascoal, Francisco Areosa, Inês Torgo, Luís Branco, Paula Baptista, Mafalda S. Lee, Charles K. Cary, S. Craig Magalhães, Catarina |
author_sort |
Pascoal, Francisco |
title |
The spatial distribution and biogeochemical drivers of nitrogen cycle genes in an Antarctic desert |
title_short |
The spatial distribution and biogeochemical drivers of nitrogen cycle genes in an Antarctic desert |
title_full |
The spatial distribution and biogeochemical drivers of nitrogen cycle genes in an Antarctic desert |
title_fullStr |
The spatial distribution and biogeochemical drivers of nitrogen cycle genes in an Antarctic desert |
title_full_unstemmed |
The spatial distribution and biogeochemical drivers of nitrogen cycle genes in an Antarctic desert |
title_sort |
spatial distribution and biogeochemical drivers of nitrogen cycle genes in an antarctic desert |
publisher |
Frontiers Media SA |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.927129 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.927129/full |
geographic |
Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys |
op_source |
Frontiers in Microbiology volume 13 ISSN 1664-302X |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.927129 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Microbiology |
container_volume |
13 |
_version_ |
1798836706815770624 |