Microbial diversity in Antarctic Dry Valley soils across an altitudinal gradient
Introduction The Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys are geologically diverse, encompassing a wide variety of soil habitats. These environments are largely dominated by microorganisms, which drive the ecosystem services of the region. While altitude is a well-established driver of eukaryotic biodiversity...
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crfrontiers:10.3389/fmicb.2023.1203216 2024-04-14T08:02:55+00:00 Microbial diversity in Antarctic Dry Valley soils across an altitudinal gradient Mashamaite, Lefentse Lebre, Pedro H. Varliero, Gilda Maphosa, Silindile Ortiz, Max Hogg, Ian D. Cowan, Don A. National Research Foundation 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1203216 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1203216/full unknown Frontiers Media SA https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Frontiers in Microbiology volume 14 ISSN 1664-302X Microbiology (medical) Microbiology journal-article 2023 crfrontiers https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1203216 2024-03-19T09:15:08Z Introduction The Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys are geologically diverse, encompassing a wide variety of soil habitats. These environments are largely dominated by microorganisms, which drive the ecosystem services of the region. While altitude is a well-established driver of eukaryotic biodiversity in these Antarctic ice-free areas (and many non-Antarctic environments), little is known of the relationship between altitude and microbial community structure and functionality in continental Antarctica. Methods We analysed prokaryotic and lower eukaryotic diversity from soil samples across a 684 m altitudinal transect in the lower Taylor Valley, Antarctica and performed a phylogenic characterization of soil microbial communities using short-read sequencing of the 16S rRNA and ITS marker gene amplicons. Results and Discussion Phylogenetic analysis showed clear altitudinal trends in soil microbial composition and structure. Cyanobacteria were more prevalent in higher altitude samples, while the highly stress resistant Chloroflexota and Deinococcota were more prevalent in lower altitude samples. We also detected a shift from Basidiomycota to Chytridiomycota with increasing altitude. Several genera associated with trace gas chemotrophy, including Rubrobacter and Ornithinicoccus , were widely distributed across the entire transect, suggesting that trace-gas chemotrophy may be an important trophic strategy for microbial survival in oligotrophic environments. The ratio of trace-gas chemotrophs to photoautotrophs was significantly higher in lower altitude samples. Co-occurrence network analysis of prokaryotic communities showed some significant differences in connectivity within the communities from different altitudinal zones, with cyanobacterial and trace-gas chemotrophy-associated taxa being identified as potential keystone taxa for soil communities at higher altitudes. By contrast, the prokaryotic network at low altitudes was dominated by heterotrophic keystone taxa, thus suggesting a clear trophic distinction between ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica McMurdo Dry Valleys Frontiers (Publisher) Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys Taylor Valley ENVELOPE(163.000,163.000,-77.617,-77.617) The Antarctic Frontiers in Microbiology 14 |
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Microbiology (medical) Microbiology |
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Microbiology (medical) Microbiology Mashamaite, Lefentse Lebre, Pedro H. Varliero, Gilda Maphosa, Silindile Ortiz, Max Hogg, Ian D. Cowan, Don A. Microbial diversity in Antarctic Dry Valley soils across an altitudinal gradient |
topic_facet |
Microbiology (medical) Microbiology |
description |
Introduction The Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys are geologically diverse, encompassing a wide variety of soil habitats. These environments are largely dominated by microorganisms, which drive the ecosystem services of the region. While altitude is a well-established driver of eukaryotic biodiversity in these Antarctic ice-free areas (and many non-Antarctic environments), little is known of the relationship between altitude and microbial community structure and functionality in continental Antarctica. Methods We analysed prokaryotic and lower eukaryotic diversity from soil samples across a 684 m altitudinal transect in the lower Taylor Valley, Antarctica and performed a phylogenic characterization of soil microbial communities using short-read sequencing of the 16S rRNA and ITS marker gene amplicons. Results and Discussion Phylogenetic analysis showed clear altitudinal trends in soil microbial composition and structure. Cyanobacteria were more prevalent in higher altitude samples, while the highly stress resistant Chloroflexota and Deinococcota were more prevalent in lower altitude samples. We also detected a shift from Basidiomycota to Chytridiomycota with increasing altitude. Several genera associated with trace gas chemotrophy, including Rubrobacter and Ornithinicoccus , were widely distributed across the entire transect, suggesting that trace-gas chemotrophy may be an important trophic strategy for microbial survival in oligotrophic environments. The ratio of trace-gas chemotrophs to photoautotrophs was significantly higher in lower altitude samples. Co-occurrence network analysis of prokaryotic communities showed some significant differences in connectivity within the communities from different altitudinal zones, with cyanobacterial and trace-gas chemotrophy-associated taxa being identified as potential keystone taxa for soil communities at higher altitudes. By contrast, the prokaryotic network at low altitudes was dominated by heterotrophic keystone taxa, thus suggesting a clear trophic distinction between ... |
author2 |
National Research Foundation |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mashamaite, Lefentse Lebre, Pedro H. Varliero, Gilda Maphosa, Silindile Ortiz, Max Hogg, Ian D. Cowan, Don A. |
author_facet |
Mashamaite, Lefentse Lebre, Pedro H. Varliero, Gilda Maphosa, Silindile Ortiz, Max Hogg, Ian D. Cowan, Don A. |
author_sort |
Mashamaite, Lefentse |
title |
Microbial diversity in Antarctic Dry Valley soils across an altitudinal gradient |
title_short |
Microbial diversity in Antarctic Dry Valley soils across an altitudinal gradient |
title_full |
Microbial diversity in Antarctic Dry Valley soils across an altitudinal gradient |
title_fullStr |
Microbial diversity in Antarctic Dry Valley soils across an altitudinal gradient |
title_full_unstemmed |
Microbial diversity in Antarctic Dry Valley soils across an altitudinal gradient |
title_sort |
microbial diversity in antarctic dry valley soils across an altitudinal gradient |
publisher |
Frontiers Media SA |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1203216 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1203216/full |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(163.000,163.000,-77.617,-77.617) |
geographic |
Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys Taylor Valley The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys Taylor Valley The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica McMurdo Dry Valleys |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica McMurdo Dry Valleys |
op_source |
Frontiers in Microbiology volume 14 ISSN 1664-302X |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1203216 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Microbiology |
container_volume |
14 |
_version_ |
1796318637526614016 |