Distinct taxonomic and functional profiles of high Arctic and alpine permafrost-affected soil microbiomes ...
Background: Global warming is affecting all cold environments, including the European Alps and Arctic regions. Here, permafrost may be considered a unique ecosystem harboring a distinct microbiome. The frequent freeze–thaw cycles occurring in permafrost-affected soils, and mainly in the seasonally a...
Main Authors: | , , , , |
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
ETH Zurich
2023
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000618893 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/618893 |
Summary: | Background: Global warming is affecting all cold environments, including the European Alps and Arctic regions. Here, permafrost may be considered a unique ecosystem harboring a distinct microbiome. The frequent freeze–thaw cycles occurring in permafrost-affected soils, and mainly in the seasonally active top layers, modify microbial communities and consequently ecosystem processes. Although taxonomic responses of the microbiomes in permafrost-affected soils have been widely documented, studies about how the microbial genetic potential, especially pathways involved in C and N cycling, changes between active-layer soils and permafrost soils are rare. Here, we used shotgun metagenomics to analyze the microbial and functional diversity and the metabolic potential of permafrost-affected soil collected from an alpine site (Val Lavirun, Engadin area, Switzerland) and a High Arctic site (Station Nord, Villum Research Station, Greenland). The main goal was to discover the key genes abundant in the active-layer and ... : Environmental Microbiomes, 18 (1) ... |
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