Entirely Off-Grid and Solar-Powered DNA Sequencing of Microbial Communities during an Ice Cap Traverse Expedition
Microbial communities in remote locations remain under-studied. This is particularly true on glaciers and icecaps, which cover approximately 11% of the Earth’s surface. The principal reason for this is the inaccessibility of most of these areas due to their extreme isolation and challenging environm...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3390/genes10110902 |
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ftmdpi:oai:mdpi.com:/2073-4425/10/11/902/ 2023-08-20T04:07:09+02:00 Entirely Off-Grid and Solar-Powered DNA Sequencing of Microbial Communities during an Ice Cap Traverse Expedition Glen-Oliver. F. Gowers Oliver Vince John-Henry Charles Ingeborg Klarenberg Tom Ellis Arwyn Edwards agris 2019-11-07 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.3390/genes10110902 EN eng Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute Molecular Genetics and Genomics https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/genes10110902 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Genes; Volume 10; Issue 11; Pages: 902 metagenomics nanopore polar expedition microbial sequencing Text 2019 ftmdpi https://doi.org/10.3390/genes10110902 2023-07-31T22:46:21Z Microbial communities in remote locations remain under-studied. This is particularly true on glaciers and icecaps, which cover approximately 11% of the Earth’s surface. The principal reason for this is the inaccessibility of most of these areas due to their extreme isolation and challenging environmental conditions. While remote research stations have significantly lowered the barrier to studying the microbial communities on icecaps, their use has led to a bias for data collection in the near vicinity of these institutions. Here, miniaturisation of a DNA sequencing lab suitable for off-grid metagenomic studies is demonstrated. Using human power alone, this lab was transported across Europe’s largest ice cap (Vatnajökull, Iceland) by ski and sledge. After 11 days of unsupported polar-style travel, a metagenomic study of a geothermal hot spring gorge was conducted on the remote northern edge of the ice cap. This tent-based metagenomic study resulted in over 24 h of Nanopore sequencing, powered by solar power alone. This study demonstrates the ability to conduct DNA sequencing in remote locations, far from civilised resources (mechanised transport, external power supply, internet connection, etc.), whilst greatly reducing the time from sample collection to data acquisition. Text Ice cap Iceland Vatnajökull MDPI Open Access Publishing Vatnajökull ENVELOPE(-16.823,-16.823,64.420,64.420) Genes 10 11 902 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
MDPI Open Access Publishing |
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ftmdpi |
language |
English |
topic |
metagenomics nanopore polar expedition microbial sequencing |
spellingShingle |
metagenomics nanopore polar expedition microbial sequencing Glen-Oliver. F. Gowers Oliver Vince John-Henry Charles Ingeborg Klarenberg Tom Ellis Arwyn Edwards Entirely Off-Grid and Solar-Powered DNA Sequencing of Microbial Communities during an Ice Cap Traverse Expedition |
topic_facet |
metagenomics nanopore polar expedition microbial sequencing |
description |
Microbial communities in remote locations remain under-studied. This is particularly true on glaciers and icecaps, which cover approximately 11% of the Earth’s surface. The principal reason for this is the inaccessibility of most of these areas due to their extreme isolation and challenging environmental conditions. While remote research stations have significantly lowered the barrier to studying the microbial communities on icecaps, their use has led to a bias for data collection in the near vicinity of these institutions. Here, miniaturisation of a DNA sequencing lab suitable for off-grid metagenomic studies is demonstrated. Using human power alone, this lab was transported across Europe’s largest ice cap (Vatnajökull, Iceland) by ski and sledge. After 11 days of unsupported polar-style travel, a metagenomic study of a geothermal hot spring gorge was conducted on the remote northern edge of the ice cap. This tent-based metagenomic study resulted in over 24 h of Nanopore sequencing, powered by solar power alone. This study demonstrates the ability to conduct DNA sequencing in remote locations, far from civilised resources (mechanised transport, external power supply, internet connection, etc.), whilst greatly reducing the time from sample collection to data acquisition. |
format |
Text |
author |
Glen-Oliver. F. Gowers Oliver Vince John-Henry Charles Ingeborg Klarenberg Tom Ellis Arwyn Edwards |
author_facet |
Glen-Oliver. F. Gowers Oliver Vince John-Henry Charles Ingeborg Klarenberg Tom Ellis Arwyn Edwards |
author_sort |
Glen-Oliver. F. Gowers |
title |
Entirely Off-Grid and Solar-Powered DNA Sequencing of Microbial Communities during an Ice Cap Traverse Expedition |
title_short |
Entirely Off-Grid and Solar-Powered DNA Sequencing of Microbial Communities during an Ice Cap Traverse Expedition |
title_full |
Entirely Off-Grid and Solar-Powered DNA Sequencing of Microbial Communities during an Ice Cap Traverse Expedition |
title_fullStr |
Entirely Off-Grid and Solar-Powered DNA Sequencing of Microbial Communities during an Ice Cap Traverse Expedition |
title_full_unstemmed |
Entirely Off-Grid and Solar-Powered DNA Sequencing of Microbial Communities during an Ice Cap Traverse Expedition |
title_sort |
entirely off-grid and solar-powered dna sequencing of microbial communities during an ice cap traverse expedition |
publisher |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/genes10110902 |
op_coverage |
agris |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-16.823,-16.823,64.420,64.420) |
geographic |
Vatnajökull |
geographic_facet |
Vatnajökull |
genre |
Ice cap Iceland Vatnajökull |
genre_facet |
Ice cap Iceland Vatnajökull |
op_source |
Genes; Volume 10; Issue 11; Pages: 902 |
op_relation |
Molecular Genetics and Genomics https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/genes10110902 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/genes10110902 |
container_title |
Genes |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
11 |
container_start_page |
902 |
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1774718615961993216 |