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Malard LA, Šabacká M, Magiopoulos I, Mowlem M, Hodson A, Tranter M, Siegert MJ, Pearce DA. Spatial Variability of Antarctic Surface Snow Bacterial Communities. Front Microbiol 2019; 10:461. [PMID: 30972032 PMCID: PMC6443967 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.00461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2018] [Accepted: 02/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
It was once a long-held view that the Antarctic was a pristine environment with low biomass, low biodiversity and low rates of microbial activity. However, as the intensity of scientific investigation has increased, so these views have started to change. In particular, the role and impact of human activity toward indigenous microbial communities has started to come under more intense scrutiny. During the Subglacial Lake Ellsworth exploration campaign in December 2012, a microbiological survey was conducted to determine the extent and likelihood of exogenous input into the subglacial lake system during the hot-water drilling process. Snow was collected from the surface to represent that used for melt water production for hot-water drilling. The results of this study showed that snow used to provide melt water differed in its microbiological composition from that of the surrounding area and raised the question of how the biogeography of snow-borne microorganisms might influence the potential outcome of scientific analyses. In this study, we investigated the biogeography of microorganisms in snow around a series of Antarctic logistic hubs, where human activity was clearly apparent, and from which scientific investigations have been undertaken. A change in microbial community structure with geographical location was apparent and, notably, a decrease in alpha diversity at more remote southern latitudes. Soil-related microorganisms dominated microbial assemblages suggesting terrestrial input, most likely from long-range aeolian transport into continental Antarctica. We also observed that relic DNA was not a major issue when assessing snow samples. Overall, our observations might have profound implications for future scientific activities in Antarctica, such as the need to establish "no-go" protected areas, the need for better characterization of field sites and improved protocols for sterilization and verification of ice drilling equipment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucie A. Malard
- Department of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Northumbria University at Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Marie Šabacká
- Centre for Polar Ecology, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, České Budějovice, Czechia
| | - Iordanis Magiopoulos
- Institute of Oceanography, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Heraklion, Greece
- Ocean Technology and Engineering Group, National Oceanography Centre Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Matt Mowlem
- Ocean Technology and Engineering Group, National Oceanography Centre Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Andy Hodson
- Arctic Geology, University Centre in Svalbard, Longyearbyen, Norway
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen, Norway
| | - Martyn Tranter
- Bristol Glaciology Centre, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Martin J. Siegert
- Grantham Institute, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - David A. Pearce
- Department of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Northumbria University at Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
- British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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Margesin R, Collins T. Microbial ecology of the cryosphere (glacial and permafrost habitats): current knowledge. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2019; 103:2537-2549. [PMID: 30719551 PMCID: PMC6443599 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-019-09631-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2018] [Revised: 01/04/2019] [Accepted: 01/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Microorganisms in cold ecosystems play a key ecological role in their natural habitats. Since these ecosystems are especially sensitive to climate changes, as indicated by the worldwide retreat of glaciers and ice sheets as well as permafrost thawing, an understanding of the role and potential of microbial life in these habitats has become crucial. Emerging technologies have added significantly to our knowledge of abundance, functional activity, and lifestyles of microbial communities in cold environments. The current knowledge of microbial ecology in glacial habitats and permafrost, the most studied habitats of the cryosphere, is reported in this review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosa Margesin
- Institute of Microbiology, University of Innsbruck, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria.
| | - Tony Collins
- Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology (CBMA), Department of Biology, University of Minho, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal
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Siegert MJ, Priscu JC, Alekhina IA, Wadham JL, Lyons WB. Antarctic subglacial lake exploration: first results and future plans. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. SERIES A, MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES 2016; 374:rsta.2014.0466. [PMID: 26667917 PMCID: PMC4685969 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2014.0466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/07/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
After more than a decade of planning, three attempts were made in 2012-2013 to access, measure in situ properties and directly sample subglacial Antarctic lake environments. First, Russian scientists drilled into the top of Lake Vostok, allowing lake water to infiltrate, and freeze within, the lower part of the ice-core borehole, from which further coring would recover a frozen sample of surface lake water. Second, UK engineers tried unsuccessfully to deploy a clean-access hot-water drill, to sample the water column and sediments of subglacial Lake Ellsworth. Third, a US mission successfully drilled cleanly into subglacial Lake Whillans, a shallow hydraulically active lake at the coastal margin of West Antarctica, obtaining samples that would later be used to prove the existence of microbial life and active biogeochemical cycling beneath the ice sheet. This article summarizes the results of these programmes in terms of the scientific results obtained, the operational knowledge gained and the engineering challenges revealed, to collate what is known about Antarctic subglacial environments and how to explore them in future. While results from Lake Whillans testify to subglacial lakes as being viable biological habitats, the engineering challenges to explore deeper more isolated lakes where unique microorganisms and climate records may be found, as exemplified in the Lake Ellsworth and Vostok missions, are considerable. Through international cooperation, and by using equipment and knowledge of the existing subglacial lake exploration programmes, it is possible that such environments could be explored thoroughly, and at numerous sites, in the near future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin J Siegert
- Grantham Institute and Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, South Kensington, UK
| | - John C Priscu
- Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA
| | | | - Jemma L Wadham
- School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - W Berry Lyons
- School of Earth Sciences, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
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Mowlem M, Saw K, Brown R, Waugh E, Cardwell CL, Wyatt J, Magiopoulos I, Keen P, Campbell J, Rundle N, Gkritzalis-Papadopoulos A. Probe technologies for clean sampling and measurement of subglacial lakes. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. SERIES A, MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES 2016; 374:rsta.2015.0267. [PMID: 26667920 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2015.0267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/26/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
It is 4 years since the subglacial lake community published its plans for accessing, sampling, measuring and studying the pristine, and hitherto enigmatic and very different, Antarctic subglacial lakes, Vostok, Whillans and Ellsworth. This paper summarizes the contrasting probe technologies designed for each of these subglacial environments and briefly updates how these designs changed or were used differently when compared to previously published plans. A detailed update on the final engineering design and technical aspects of the probe for Subglacial Lake Ellsworth is presented. This probe is designed for clean access, is negatively buoyant (350 kg), 5.2 m long, 200 mm in diameter, approximately cylindrical and consists of five major units: (i) an upper power and communications unit attached to an optical and electrical conducting tether, (ii)-(iv) three water and particle samplers, and (v) a sensors, imaging and instrumentation pack tipped with a miniature sediment corer. To date, only in Subglacial Lake Whillans have instruments been successfully deployed. Probe technologies for Subglacial Lake Vostok (2014/15) and Lake Ellsworth (2012/13) were not deployed for technical reasons, in the case of Lake Ellsworth because hot-water drilling was unable to access the lake during the field season window. Lessons learned and opportunities for probe technologies in future subglacial access missions are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matt Mowlem
- National Oceanography Centre, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
| | - Kevin Saw
- National Oceanography Centre, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
| | - Robin Brown
- National Oceanography Centre, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
| | - Edward Waugh
- Dyson Ltd., Tetbury Hill, Malmesbury, Wiltshire SN16 0RP, UK
| | | | - James Wyatt
- National Oceanography Centre, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
| | | | - Peter Keen
- Keen Marine Ltd., 15 Minerva Road, East Cowes, Isle of Wight PO32 6HD, UK
| | - Jon Campbell
- National Oceanography Centre, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
| | - Nicholas Rundle
- National Oceanography Centre, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
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