| Summary: | Cyanobacteria are often considered as the dominant phototrophs in Antarctic lacustrine environments, primarily occurring in benthic or floating microbial mat communities. Previous studies have indicated the presence of endemic cyanobacteria in the Antarctic Realm, but the extent and patterns of cyanobacterial bioregionalisation, if any, is still largely unknown. Therefore, our objective is to assess the cyanobacterial diversity in Antarctic lacustrine microbial mats using 454 pyrosequencing, in order to determine if cyanobacterial biogeographic patterns are similar to those observed for multicellular organisms. This will be useful also as baseline data, for later comparisons and assessments of the impact of global change. CCAMBIO, Climate change and Antarctic Microbial Diversity
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