Environmental microarray analyses of Antarctic soil microbial communities.

• Published in: The ISME Journal
• Main Authors: Yergeau, Etienne, Schoondermark-Stolk, Sung A, Brodie, Eoin L, Déjean, Sébastien, Desantis, Todd Z, Gonçalves, Olivier, Piceno, Yvette M, Andersen, Gary L, Kowalchuk, George A
• Other Authors: Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), Ecology Department LBNL Berkeley, Earth Science Division LBNL Berkeley (ESD), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley (LBNL)-Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley (LBNL), Institut de Mathématiques de Toulouse UMR5219 (IMT), Institut National des Sciences Appliquées - Toulouse (INSA Toulouse), Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Université Toulouse 1 Capitole (UT1), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire Microorganismes : Génome et Environnement (LMGE), Université Blaise Pascal - Clermont-Ferrand 2 (UBP)-Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I (UdA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2009
• Subjects: Antarctic soil ecosystems; GeoChip microarray; microbial community structure; microbial diversity; PhyloChip microarray; geo; envir; Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Coal nunatak; The Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2008.111; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00529762

International audience Antarctic ecosystems are fascinating in their limited trophic complexity, with decomposition and nutrient cycling functions being dominated by microbial activities. Not only are Antarctic habitats exposed to extreme environmental conditions, the Antarctic Peninsula is also experiencing unequalled effects of global warming. Owing to their uniqueness and the potential impact of global warming on these pristine systems, there is considerable interest in determining the structure and function of microbial communities in the Antarctic. We therefore utilized a recently designed 16S rRNA gene microarray, the PhyloChip, which targets 8741 bacterial and archaeal taxa, to interrogate microbial communities inhabiting densely vegetated and bare fell-field soils along a latitudinal gradient ranging from 51 degrees S (Falkland Islands) to 72 degrees S (Coal Nunatak). Results indicated a clear decrease in diversity with increasing latitude, with the two southernmost sites harboring the most distinct Bacterial and Archaeal communities. The microarray approach proved more sensitive in detecting the breadth of microbial diversity than polymerase chain reaction-based bacterial 16S rRNA gene libraries of modest size ( approximately 190 clones per library). Furthermore, the relative signal intensities summed for phyla and families on the PhyloChip were significantly correlated with the relative occurrence of these taxa in clone libraries. PhyloChip data were also compared with functional gene microarray data obtained earlier, highlighting numerous significant relationships and providing evidence for a strong link between community composition and functional gene distribution in Antarctic soils. Integration of these PhyloChip data with other complementary methods provides an unprecedented understanding of the microbial diversity and community structure of terrestrial Antarctic habitats.