Environmental characteristics and gas composition of Lost Hammer, Canadian Arctic ...

• Main Authors: Niederberger, Thomas D, Perreault, Nancy N, Tille, Stephanie, Lollar, Barbara Sherwood, Lacrampe-Couloume, Georges, Andersen, Dale, Greer, Charles W, Pollard, Wayne H, Whyte, Lyle G
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2010
• Subjects: Sampling by hand; International Polar Year 2007-2008 IPY; International Polar Year; IPY; permafrost
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.817602; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.817602

We report the first microbiological characterization of a terrestrial methane seep in a cryo-environment in the form of an Arctic hypersaline (~24% salinity), subzero (-5 C), perennial spring, arising through thick permafrost in an area with an average annual air temperature of -15 C. Bacterial and archaeal 16S rRNA gene clone libraries indicated a relatively low diversity of phylotypes within the spring sediment (Shannon index values of 1.65 and 1.39, respectively). Bacterial phylotypes were related to microorganisms such as Loktanella, Gillisia, Halomonas and Marinobacter spp. previously recovered from cold, saline habitats. A proportion of the bacterial phylotypes were cultured, including Marinobacter and Halomonas, with all isolates capable of growth at the in situ temperature (-5 C). Archaeal phylotypes were related to signatures from hypersaline deep-sea methane-seep sediments and were dominated by the anaerobic methane group 1a (ANME-1a) clade of anaerobic methane oxidizing archaea. CARD-FISH analyses ... : Data extracted in the frame of a joint ICSTI/PANGAEA IPY effort, see http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.150150 ...