Microbial Communities in Permafrost Soils of Larsemann Hills, Eastern Antarctica: Environmental Controls and Effect of Human Impact
Although ice-free areas cover only about 0.1% of Antarctica and are characterized by harsh environmental conditions, these regions provide quite diverse conditions for the soil-forming process, having various physical and geochemical properties, and also assuring different conditions for living orga...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-08-01
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| Series: | Microorganisms |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/8/8/1202 |
| _version_ | 1797559730222137344 |
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| author | Ivan Alekseev Aleksei Zverev Evgeny Abakumov |
| author_facet | Ivan Alekseev Aleksei Zverev Evgeny Abakumov |
| author_sort | Ivan Alekseev |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although ice-free areas cover only about 0.1% of Antarctica and are characterized by harsh environmental conditions, these regions provide quite diverse conditions for the soil-forming process, having various physical and geochemical properties, and also assuring different conditions for living organisms. This study is aimed to determine existing soil microbial communities, their relationship with soil parameters and the influence of anthropogenic activity in Larsemann Hills, Eastern Antarctica. The soil microbiome was investigated at different locations using 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing. The taxonomic analysis of the soil microbiomes revealed 12 predominant bacterial and archaeal phyla—Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi, Gemmatimonadetes, Verrucomicrobia, Planctomycetes, Bacteroidetes, Armatimonadetes, Firmicutes, Cyanobacteria, Thaumarchaeota. Some specific phyla have been also found in sub-surface horizons of soils investigated, thus providing additional evidence of the crucial role of gravel pavement in saving the favorable conditions for both soil and microbiome development. Moreover, our study also revealed that some bacterial species might be introduced into Antarctic soils by human activities. We also assessed the effect of different soil parameters on microbial community in the harsh environmental conditions of Eastern Antarctica. pH, carbon and nitrogen, as well as fine earth content, were revealed as the most accurate predictors of soil bacterial community composition. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:49:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ff5cfb63dd874d5abe894c91c212a799 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:49:28Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj.art-ff5cfb63dd874d5abe894c91c212a7992023-11-20T09:24:56ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072020-08-0188120210.3390/microorganisms8081202Microbial Communities in Permafrost Soils of Larsemann Hills, Eastern Antarctica: Environmental Controls and Effect of Human ImpactIvan Alekseev0Aleksei Zverev1Evgeny Abakumov2Department of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Biology, Saint Petersburg State University, 199034 Saint Petersburg, RussiaDepartment of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Biology, Saint Petersburg State University, 199034 Saint Petersburg, RussiaDepartment of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Biology, Saint Petersburg State University, 199034 Saint Petersburg, RussiaAlthough ice-free areas cover only about 0.1% of Antarctica and are characterized by harsh environmental conditions, these regions provide quite diverse conditions for the soil-forming process, having various physical and geochemical properties, and also assuring different conditions for living organisms. This study is aimed to determine existing soil microbial communities, their relationship with soil parameters and the influence of anthropogenic activity in Larsemann Hills, Eastern Antarctica. The soil microbiome was investigated at different locations using 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing. The taxonomic analysis of the soil microbiomes revealed 12 predominant bacterial and archaeal phyla—Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi, Gemmatimonadetes, Verrucomicrobia, Planctomycetes, Bacteroidetes, Armatimonadetes, Firmicutes, Cyanobacteria, Thaumarchaeota. Some specific phyla have been also found in sub-surface horizons of soils investigated, thus providing additional evidence of the crucial role of gravel pavement in saving the favorable conditions for both soil and microbiome development. Moreover, our study also revealed that some bacterial species might be introduced into Antarctic soils by human activities. We also assessed the effect of different soil parameters on microbial community in the harsh environmental conditions of Eastern Antarctica. pH, carbon and nitrogen, as well as fine earth content, were revealed as the most accurate predictors of soil bacterial community composition.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/8/8/1202extremophilesAntarcticasoil parametershuman impactmicrobial communities |
| spellingShingle | Ivan Alekseev Aleksei Zverev Evgeny Abakumov Microbial Communities in Permafrost Soils of Larsemann Hills, Eastern Antarctica: Environmental Controls and Effect of Human Impact Microorganisms extremophiles Antarctica soil parameters human impact microbial communities |
| title | Microbial Communities in Permafrost Soils of Larsemann Hills, Eastern Antarctica: Environmental Controls and Effect of Human Impact |
| title_full | Microbial Communities in Permafrost Soils of Larsemann Hills, Eastern Antarctica: Environmental Controls and Effect of Human Impact |
| title_fullStr | Microbial Communities in Permafrost Soils of Larsemann Hills, Eastern Antarctica: Environmental Controls and Effect of Human Impact |
| title_full_unstemmed | Microbial Communities in Permafrost Soils of Larsemann Hills, Eastern Antarctica: Environmental Controls and Effect of Human Impact |
| title_short | Microbial Communities in Permafrost Soils of Larsemann Hills, Eastern Antarctica: Environmental Controls and Effect of Human Impact |
| title_sort | microbial communities in permafrost soils of larsemann hills eastern antarctica environmental controls and effect of human impact |
| topic | extremophiles Antarctica soil parameters human impact microbial communities |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/8/8/1202 |
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