A metagenomic snapshot of taxonomic and functional diversity in an alpine glacier cryoconite ecosystem
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15545239 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Arwyn Edwards (0000-0003-1762-8593, Aberystwyth University, corresponding author), Justin A Pachebat (0000-0003-3369-3205, Aberystwyth University), Martin Swain (0000-0002-1418-4440, Aberystwyth University), Matthew Hegarty (0000-0001-6547-3800, Aberystwyth University), Andy Hodson (0000-0002-1255-7987, University of Sheffield), Tristram Irvine‐Fynn (0000-0003-3157-6646, Aberystwyth University), Sara M E Rassner (0000-0003-1088-5140, Aberystwyth University), Birgit Sattler (0000-0002-2127-556X, Universität Innsbruck) |
| Year | 2013 |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 035003-035003 |
| Publication date | 2013-07-03 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Environmental Research Letters (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1748-9326 • E-ISSN: 1748-9326 |
| Publisher | IOP Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/035003 |
| OpenAlex | W2085248024 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 2 |
Cryoconite is a microbe–mineral aggregate which darkens the ice surface of glaciers. Microbial process and marker gene PCR-dependent measurements reveal active and diverse cryoconite microbial communities on polar glaciers. Here, we provide the first report of a cryoconite metagenome and culture-independent study of alpine cryoconite microbial diversity. We assembled 1.2 Gbp of metagenomic DNA sequenced using an Illumina HiScanSQ from cryoconite holes across the ablation zone of Rotmoosferner in the Austrian Alps. The metagenome revealed a bacterially-dominated community, with Proteobacteria (62% of bacterial-assigned contigs) and Bacteroidetes (14%) considerably more abundant than Cyanobacteria (2.5%). Streptophyte DNA dominated the eukaryotic metagenome. Functional genes linked to N, Fe, S and P cycling illustrated an acquisitive trend and a nitrogen cycle based upon efficient ammonia recycling. A comparison of 32 metagenome datasets revealed a similarity in functional profiles between the cryoconite and metagenomes characterized from other cold microbe–mineral aggregates. Overall, the metagenomic snapshot reveals the cryoconite ecosystem of this alpine glacier as dependent on scavenging carbon and nutrients from allochthonous sources, in particular mosses transported by wind from ice-marginal habitats, consistent with net heterotrophy indicated by productivity measurements. A transition from singular snapshots of cryoconite metagenomes to comparative analyses is advocated
16S ribosomal RNA · Bacteria · Bacteroidetes · Biology · Ecosystem · Gene · Glacier · Metagenomics · Proteobacteria · Climate change and permafrost · Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology · Polar Research and Ecology · Ecology · Paleontology
Contamination of the Arctic reflected in microbial metagenomes from the Greenland ice sheet
Cryospheric ecosystems
The diversity and biogeography of the communities of Actinobacteria in the forelands of glaciers at a continental scale
The microorganisms of cryoconite holes (algae, Archaea, bacteria, cyanobacteria, fungi, and Protista)
| Citations per year | 0.36 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2015 - 2017 (3) |
| Highly cited | No |