Active and dormant microorganisms on glacier surfaces ...

• Main Authors: Bradley, James A., Trivedi, Christopher B., Winkel, Matthias, Mourot, Rey, Lutz, Stefanie, Larose, Catherine, Keuschnig, Christoph, Doting, Eva, Halbach, Laura, Benning, Liane G.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Freie Universität Berlin 2023
• Subjects: activity; dormancy; extremophiles; glacier; ice; microorganisms; snow; 500 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik570 Biowissenschaften; Biologie570 Biowissenschaften; Biologie; Greenland; Ice Sheet; Iceland
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17169/refubium-38023; https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/38304

Glacier and ice sheet surfaces host diverse communities of microorganisms whose activity (or inactivity) influences biogeochemical cycles and ice melting. Supraglacial microbes endure various environmental extremes including resource scarcity, frequent temperature fluctuations above and below the freezing point of water, and high UV irradiance during summer followed by months of total darkness during winter. One strategy that enables microbial life to persist through environmental extremes is dormancy, which despite being prevalent among microbial communities in natural settings, has not been directly measured and quantified in glacier surface ecosystems. Here, we use a combination of metabarcoding and metatranscriptomic analyses, as well as cell-specific activity (BONCAT) incubations to assess the diversity and activity of microbial communities from glacial surfaces in Iceland and Greenland. We also present a new ecological model for glacier microorganisms and simulate physiological state-changes in the ...