The undiscovered biosynthetic potential of the Greenland Ice Sheet microbiome ...

• Main Authors: Jaarsma, Ate H., Zervas, Athanasios, Sipes, Katie, Campuzano Jiménez, Francisco, Smith, Andrea Claire, Svendsen, Liessel Victoria, Thøgersen, Mariane S., Stougaard, Peter, Benning, Liane G., Tranter, Martyn
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Freie Universität Berlin 2023
• Subjects: supraglacial habitats; extremophiles; metagenomic sequencing; biosynthetic gene clusters; genome mining; bioprospecting; 500 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik570 Biowissenschaften; Biologie570 Biowissenschaften; Biologie; Greenland; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17169/refubium-42056; https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/42331

The Greenland Ice Sheet is a biome which is mainly microbially driven. Several different niches can be found within the glacial biome for those microbes able to withstand the harsh conditions, e.g., low temperatures, low nutrient conditions, high UV radiation in summer, and contrasting long and dark winters. Eukaryotic algae can form blooms during the summer on the ice surface, interacting with communities of bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Cryoconite holes and snow are also habitats with their own microbial community. Nevertheless, the microbiome of supraglacial habitats remains poorly studied, leading to a lack of representative genomes from these environments. Under-investigated extremophiles, like those living on the Greenland Ice Sheet, may provide an untapped reservoir of chemical diversity that is yet to be discovered. In this study, an inventory of the biosynthetic potential of these organisms is made, through cataloging the presence of biosynthetic gene clusters in their genomes. There were 133 ...