Spatial heterogeneity of a microbial community in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard during late summer 2006 and its relationship to biotic and abiotic factors

• Main Authors: Chaoying, Guo, Jianfeng, He, Fang, Zhang, Minghong, Cai, Guizhong, Wang
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Polar Research Institute of China - PRIC 2011
• Subjects: Fauna; Arctic; Svalbard; Advances in Polar Science; Kongsfjord*; Kongsfjorden; Polar Science; Spitsbergen
• Online Access: http://library.arcticportal.org/2413/; http://library.arcticportal.org/2413/1/A20110108.pdf

The 16S and 18S ribosomal ribonucleic acid genes of microbial organisms collected from the contrasting environments (temperature, salinity, silicate, phosphate and nitrate, p <0.05) of the inner and outer basins of Kongsfjorden (Spitsbergen, Arctic) were studied using polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis(DGGE) fingerprinting. Comparison of the microbial fingerprints and the physicochemical parameters revealed that molecular methodology exhibited a greater sensitivity. Sequences obtained from bacterial DGGE were affiliated with four main phylogenetic groups of bacteria: Proteobacteria(Alpha, Beta and Gamma), Bacteroidetes, Verrucomicrobia and Cyanobacteria. The relationships between the genotype distribution of these microbes and associated biotic/abiotic factors, revealed by canonical correspondence analysis, showed that Station 1 at 30 m (outer fjord) was grouped separately from the other sites. This difference could be a consequence of the thermocline and base of the euphotic layer at this depth where the Atlantic and Arctic-type waters overlapped.