Metagenomic analysis of microbial communities across a transect from low to highly hydrocarbon‐contaminated soils in King George Island, Maritime Antarctica

• Published in: Geobiology
• Main Authors: Jurelevicius, Diogo, Pereira, Raphael da Silva, da Mota, Fabio Faria, Cury, Juliano C., de Oliveira, Ivan Cardoso, Rosado, Alexandre S., Mason, Olivia U., Jansson, Janet K., Seldin, Lucy
• Other Authors: Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2021
• Subjects: Antarctic; Ferraz; King George Island; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gbi.12472; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/gbi.12472; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/gbi.12472

Abstract Soil samples from a transect from low to highly hydrocarbon‐contaminated soils were collected around the Brazilian Antarctic Station Comandante Ferraz (EACF), located at King George Island, Antarctica. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis of bacterial 16S rRNA genes, 16S rRNA gene (iTag), and shotgun metagenomic sequencing were used to characterize microbial community structure and the potential for petroleum degradation by indigenous microbes. Hydrocarbon contamination did not affect bacterial abundance in EACF soils (bacterial 16S rRNA gene qPCR). However, analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed a successive change in the microbial community along the pollution gradient. Microbial richness and diversity decreased with the increase of hydrocarbon concentration in EACF soils. The abundance of Cytophaga , Methyloversatilis , Polaromonas , and Williamsia was positively correlated ( p ‐value = <.05) with the concentration of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and/or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). Annotation of metagenomic data revealed that the most abundant hydrocarbon degradation pathway in EACF soils was related to alkyl derivative‐PAH degradation (mainly methylnaphthalenes) via the CYP450 enzyme family. The abundance of genes related to nitrogen fixation increased in EACF soils as the concentration of hydrocarbons increased. The results obtained here are valuable for the future of bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbon‐contaminated soils in polar environments.