Adaptation of the Endolithic Biome in Antarctic Volcanic Rocks
Endolithic microorganisms, ranging from microeukaryotes to bacteria and archaea, live within the cracks and crevices of rocks. Deception Island in Antarctica constitutes an extreme environment in which endoliths face environmental threats such as intense cold, lack of light in winter, high solar rad...
Published in: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , |
Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
2023
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241813824 |
id |
ftmdpi:oai:mdpi.com:/1422-0067/24/18/13824/ |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftmdpi:oai:mdpi.com:/1422-0067/24/18/13824/ 2023-10-09T21:45:50+02:00 Adaptation of the Endolithic Biome in Antarctic Volcanic Rocks Andrea Hidalgo-Arias Víctor Muñoz-Hisado Pilar Valles Adelina Geyer Eva Garcia-Lopez Cristina Cid agris 2023-09-07 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241813824 eng eng Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute Molecular Microbiology https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms241813824 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ International Journal of Molecular Sciences Volume 24 Issue 18 Pages: 13824 endolithic microorganisms Deception Island extremophiles volcanic rock 16S/18S rRNA sequencing bioinformatics astrobiology Text 2023 ftmdpi https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241813824 2023-09-10T23:55:05Z Endolithic microorganisms, ranging from microeukaryotes to bacteria and archaea, live within the cracks and crevices of rocks. Deception Island in Antarctica constitutes an extreme environment in which endoliths face environmental threats such as intense cold, lack of light in winter, high solar radiation in summer, and heat emitted as the result of volcanic eruptions. In addition, the endolithic biome is considered the harshest one on Earth, since it suffers added threats such as dryness or lack of nutrients. Even so, samples from this hostile environment, collected at various points throughout the island, hosted diverse and numerous microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, diatoms, ciliates, flagellates and unicellular algae. These endoliths were first identified by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). To understand the molecular mechanisms of adaptation of these endoliths to their environment, genomics techniques were used, and prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms were identified by metabarcoding, sequencing the V3–V4 and V4–V5 regions of the 16S and 18S rRNA genes, respectively. Subsequently, the sequences were analyzed by bioinformatic methods that allow their metabolism to be deduced from the taxonomy. The results obtained concluded that some of these microorganisms have activated the biosynthesis routes of pigments such as prodigiosin or flavonoids. These adaptation studies also revealed that microorganisms defend themselves against environmental toxins by activating metabolic pathways for the degradation of compounds such as ethylbenzene, xylene and dioxins and for the biosynthesis of antioxidant molecules such as glutathione. Finally, these Antarctic endolithic microorganisms are of great interest in astrobiology since endolithic settings are environmentally analogous to the primitive Earth or the surfaces of extraterrestrial bodies. Text Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Deception Island MDPI Open Access Publishing Antarctic Deception Island ENVELOPE(-60.633,-60.633,-62.950,-62.950) International Journal of Molecular Sciences 24 18 13824 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
MDPI Open Access Publishing |
op_collection_id |
ftmdpi |
language |
English |
topic |
endolithic microorganisms Deception Island extremophiles volcanic rock 16S/18S rRNA sequencing bioinformatics astrobiology |
spellingShingle |
endolithic microorganisms Deception Island extremophiles volcanic rock 16S/18S rRNA sequencing bioinformatics astrobiology Andrea Hidalgo-Arias Víctor Muñoz-Hisado Pilar Valles Adelina Geyer Eva Garcia-Lopez Cristina Cid Adaptation of the Endolithic Biome in Antarctic Volcanic Rocks |
topic_facet |
endolithic microorganisms Deception Island extremophiles volcanic rock 16S/18S rRNA sequencing bioinformatics astrobiology |
description |
Endolithic microorganisms, ranging from microeukaryotes to bacteria and archaea, live within the cracks and crevices of rocks. Deception Island in Antarctica constitutes an extreme environment in which endoliths face environmental threats such as intense cold, lack of light in winter, high solar radiation in summer, and heat emitted as the result of volcanic eruptions. In addition, the endolithic biome is considered the harshest one on Earth, since it suffers added threats such as dryness or lack of nutrients. Even so, samples from this hostile environment, collected at various points throughout the island, hosted diverse and numerous microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, diatoms, ciliates, flagellates and unicellular algae. These endoliths were first identified by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). To understand the molecular mechanisms of adaptation of these endoliths to their environment, genomics techniques were used, and prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms were identified by metabarcoding, sequencing the V3–V4 and V4–V5 regions of the 16S and 18S rRNA genes, respectively. Subsequently, the sequences were analyzed by bioinformatic methods that allow their metabolism to be deduced from the taxonomy. The results obtained concluded that some of these microorganisms have activated the biosynthesis routes of pigments such as prodigiosin or flavonoids. These adaptation studies also revealed that microorganisms defend themselves against environmental toxins by activating metabolic pathways for the degradation of compounds such as ethylbenzene, xylene and dioxins and for the biosynthesis of antioxidant molecules such as glutathione. Finally, these Antarctic endolithic microorganisms are of great interest in astrobiology since endolithic settings are environmentally analogous to the primitive Earth or the surfaces of extraterrestrial bodies. |
format |
Text |
author |
Andrea Hidalgo-Arias Víctor Muñoz-Hisado Pilar Valles Adelina Geyer Eva Garcia-Lopez Cristina Cid |
author_facet |
Andrea Hidalgo-Arias Víctor Muñoz-Hisado Pilar Valles Adelina Geyer Eva Garcia-Lopez Cristina Cid |
author_sort |
Andrea Hidalgo-Arias |
title |
Adaptation of the Endolithic Biome in Antarctic Volcanic Rocks |
title_short |
Adaptation of the Endolithic Biome in Antarctic Volcanic Rocks |
title_full |
Adaptation of the Endolithic Biome in Antarctic Volcanic Rocks |
title_fullStr |
Adaptation of the Endolithic Biome in Antarctic Volcanic Rocks |
title_full_unstemmed |
Adaptation of the Endolithic Biome in Antarctic Volcanic Rocks |
title_sort |
adaptation of the endolithic biome in antarctic volcanic rocks |
publisher |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241813824 |
op_coverage |
agris |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-60.633,-60.633,-62.950,-62.950) |
geographic |
Antarctic Deception Island |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Deception Island |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Deception Island |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Deception Island |
op_source |
International Journal of Molecular Sciences Volume 24 Issue 18 Pages: 13824 |
op_relation |
Molecular Microbiology https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms241813824 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241813824 |
container_title |
International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
container_volume |
24 |
container_issue |
18 |
container_start_page |
13824 |
_version_ |
1779321480403746816 |