Insights into community of photosynthetic microorganisms from permafrost

ABSTRACT This work integrates cultivation studies of Siberian permafrost and analyses of metagenomes from different locations in the Arctic with the aim of obtaining insights into the community of photosynthetic microorganisms in perennially frozen deposits. Cyanobacteria and microalgae have been de...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:FEMS Microbiology Ecology
Main Authors: Vishnivetskaya, Tatiana A, Almatari, Abraham L, Spirina, Elena V, Wu, Xiaofen, Williams, Daniel E, Pfiffner, Susan M, Rivkina, Elizaveta M
Other Authors: National Science Foundation, Russian Foundation for Basic Research, U.S. Department of Energy
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Oxford University Press (OUP) 2020
Subjects:
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
Ecology
Microbiology
Arctic
permafrost
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiaa229
http://academic.oup.com/femsec/advance-article-pdf/doi/10.1093/femsec/fiaa229/34283976/fiaa229.pdf
https://academic.oup.com/femsec/article-pdf/96/12/fiaa229/34542917/fiaa229.pdf
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Summary:ABSTRACT This work integrates cultivation studies of Siberian permafrost and analyses of metagenomes from different locations in the Arctic with the aim of obtaining insights into the community of photosynthetic microorganisms in perennially frozen deposits. Cyanobacteria and microalgae have been described in Arctic aquatic and surface soil environments, but their diversity and ability to withstand harsh conditions within the permafrost are still largely unknown. Community structure of photosynthetic organisms in permafrost sediments was explored using Arctic metagenomes available through the MG-RAST. Sequences affiliated with cyanobacteria represented from 0.25 to 3.03% of total sequences, followed by sequences affiliated with Streptophyta (algae and vascular plants) 0.01–0.45% and Chlorophyta (green algae) 0.01–0.1%. Enrichment and cultivation approaches revealed that cyanobacteria and green algae survive in permafrost and they could be revived during prolonged incubation at low light intensity. Among photosynthetic microorganisms isolated from permafrost, the filamentous Oscillatoria-like cyanobacteria and unicellular green algae of the genus Chlorella were dominant. Our findings suggest that permafrost cyanobacteria and green algae are expected to be effective members of the re-assembled community after permafrost thawing and soil collapse.

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