The dark side of the moon: first insights into the microbiome structure and function of one of the last glacier-fed streams in Africa
The glaciers on Africa's ‘Mountains of the Moon' (Rwenzori National Park, Uganda) are predicted to disappear within the next decades owing to climate change. Consequently, the glacier-fed streams (GFSs) that drain them will vanish, along with their resident microbial communities. Despite t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The Royal Society
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Royal Society Open Science |
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| Online Access: | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.230329 |
| _version_ | 1797749085772447744 |
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| author | Grégoire Michoud Tyler J. Kohler Leïla Ezzat Hannes Peter Juliet Kigongo Nattabi Rosemary Nalwanga Paraskevi Pramateftaki Michail Styllas Matteo Tolosano Vincent De Staercke Martina Schön Ramona Marasco Daniele Daffonchio Massimo Bourquin Susheel Bhanu Busi Tom J. Battin |
| author_facet | Grégoire Michoud Tyler J. Kohler Leïla Ezzat Hannes Peter Juliet Kigongo Nattabi Rosemary Nalwanga Paraskevi Pramateftaki Michail Styllas Matteo Tolosano Vincent De Staercke Martina Schön Ramona Marasco Daniele Daffonchio Massimo Bourquin Susheel Bhanu Busi Tom J. Battin |
| author_sort | Grégoire Michoud |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The glaciers on Africa's ‘Mountains of the Moon' (Rwenzori National Park, Uganda) are predicted to disappear within the next decades owing to climate change. Consequently, the glacier-fed streams (GFSs) that drain them will vanish, along with their resident microbial communities. Despite the relevance of microbial communities for performing ecosystem processes in equatorial GFSs, their ecology remains understudied. Here, we show that the benthic microbiome from the Mt. Stanley GFS is distinct at several levels from other GFSs. Specifically, several novel taxa were present, and usually common groups such as Chrysophytes and Polaromonas exhibited lower relative abundances compared to higher-latitude GFSs, while cyanobacteria and diatoms were more abundant. The rich primary producer community in this GFS likely results from the greater environmental stability of the Afrotropics, and accordingly, heterotrophic processes dominated in the bacterial community. Metagenomics revealed that almost all prokaryotes in the Mt. Stanley GFS are capable of organic carbon oxidation, while greater than 80% have the potential for fermentation and acetate oxidation. Our findings suggest a close coupling between photoautotrophs and other microbes in this GFS, and provide a glimpse into the future for high-latitude GFSs globally where primary production is projected to increase with ongoing glacier shrinkage. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:14:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1d9c6e0430e648c7aed31e157d980214 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2054-5703 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:14:10Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | The Royal Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Royal Society Open Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-1d9c6e0430e648c7aed31e157d9802142023-08-09T07:05:25ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032023-08-0110810.1098/rsos.230329The dark side of the moon: first insights into the microbiome structure and function of one of the last glacier-fed streams in AfricaGrégoire Michoud0Tyler J. Kohler1Leïla Ezzat2Hannes Peter3Juliet Kigongo Nattabi4Rosemary Nalwanga5Paraskevi Pramateftaki6Michail Styllas7Matteo Tolosano8Vincent De Staercke9Martina Schön10Ramona Marasco11Daniele Daffonchio12Massimo Bourquin13Susheel Bhanu Busi14Tom J. Battin15River Ecosystems Laboratory, Alpine and Polar Environmental Research Center, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, SwitzerlandRiver Ecosystems Laboratory, Alpine and Polar Environmental Research Center, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, SwitzerlandRiver Ecosystems Laboratory, Alpine and Polar Environmental Research Center, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, SwitzerlandRiver Ecosystems Laboratory, Alpine and Polar Environmental Research Center, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, SwitzerlandDepartment of Zoology, Entomology and Fisheries Sciences (ZEFs), College of Natural Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, UgandaDepartment of Zoology, Entomology and Fisheries Sciences (ZEFs), College of Natural Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, UgandaRiver Ecosystems Laboratory, Alpine and Polar Environmental Research Center, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, SwitzerlandRiver Ecosystems Laboratory, Alpine and Polar Environmental Research Center, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, SwitzerlandRiver Ecosystems Laboratory, Alpine and Polar Environmental Research Center, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, SwitzerlandRiver Ecosystems Laboratory, Alpine and Polar Environmental Research Center, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, SwitzerlandRiver Ecosystems Laboratory, Alpine and Polar Environmental Research Center, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, SwitzerlandBiological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaBiological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaRiver Ecosystems Laboratory, Alpine and Polar Environmental Research Center, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, SwitzerlandSystems Ecology Group, Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, LuxembourgRiver Ecosystems Laboratory, Alpine and Polar Environmental Research Center, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, SwitzerlandThe glaciers on Africa's ‘Mountains of the Moon' (Rwenzori National Park, Uganda) are predicted to disappear within the next decades owing to climate change. Consequently, the glacier-fed streams (GFSs) that drain them will vanish, along with their resident microbial communities. Despite the relevance of microbial communities for performing ecosystem processes in equatorial GFSs, their ecology remains understudied. Here, we show that the benthic microbiome from the Mt. Stanley GFS is distinct at several levels from other GFSs. Specifically, several novel taxa were present, and usually common groups such as Chrysophytes and Polaromonas exhibited lower relative abundances compared to higher-latitude GFSs, while cyanobacteria and diatoms were more abundant. The rich primary producer community in this GFS likely results from the greater environmental stability of the Afrotropics, and accordingly, heterotrophic processes dominated in the bacterial community. Metagenomics revealed that almost all prokaryotes in the Mt. Stanley GFS are capable of organic carbon oxidation, while greater than 80% have the potential for fermentation and acetate oxidation. Our findings suggest a close coupling between photoautotrophs and other microbes in this GFS, and provide a glimpse into the future for high-latitude GFSs globally where primary production is projected to increase with ongoing glacier shrinkage.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.230329microbial ecologybiofilmstropical glacierAfricaclimate changeUganda |
| spellingShingle | Grégoire Michoud Tyler J. Kohler Leïla Ezzat Hannes Peter Juliet Kigongo Nattabi Rosemary Nalwanga Paraskevi Pramateftaki Michail Styllas Matteo Tolosano Vincent De Staercke Martina Schön Ramona Marasco Daniele Daffonchio Massimo Bourquin Susheel Bhanu Busi Tom J. Battin The dark side of the moon: first insights into the microbiome structure and function of one of the last glacier-fed streams in Africa Royal Society Open Science microbial ecology biofilms tropical glacier Africa climate change Uganda |
| title | The dark side of the moon: first insights into the microbiome structure and function of one of the last glacier-fed streams in Africa |
| title_full | The dark side of the moon: first insights into the microbiome structure and function of one of the last glacier-fed streams in Africa |
| title_fullStr | The dark side of the moon: first insights into the microbiome structure and function of one of the last glacier-fed streams in Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | The dark side of the moon: first insights into the microbiome structure and function of one of the last glacier-fed streams in Africa |
| title_short | The dark side of the moon: first insights into the microbiome structure and function of one of the last glacier-fed streams in Africa |
| title_sort | dark side of the moon first insights into the microbiome structure and function of one of the last glacier fed streams in africa |
| topic | microbial ecology biofilms tropical glacier Africa climate change Uganda |
| url | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.230329 |
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