Extremophiles in an Antarctic Marine Ecosystem

Microorganisms

Iain Dickinson³  William Goodall-Copestake²  Michael A.S. Thorne²  Thomas Schlitt²  Maria L. Ávila-Jiménez⁴  David A. Pearce³  Ricardo Amils¹ 

[1] Department of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Ellison Building, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE1 8ST, UKBritish Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 OET, UK;Department of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Ellison Building, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE1 8ST, UK;Prudhoe St., Alnwick NE66 1UG, UK;

关键词: Antarctica;    bacteria;    biodiversity;    metagenome;    polar;    marine;    bioprospecting;    fosmid;    extremophile;    rare;   

DOI  :  10.3390/microorganisms4010008

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Recent attempts to explore marine microbial diversity and the global marine microbiome have indicated a large proportion of previously unknown diversity. However, sequencing alone does not tell the whole story, as it relies heavily upon information that is already contained within sequence databases. In addition, microorganisms have been shown to present small-to-large scale biogeographical patterns worldwide, potentially making regional combinations of selection pressures unique. Here, we focus on the extremophile community in the boundary region located between the Polar Front and the Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current in the Southern Ocean, to explore the potential of metagenomic approaches as a tool for bioprospecting in the search for novel functional activity based on targeted sampling efforts. We assessed the microbial composition and diversity from a region north of the current limit for winter sea ice, north of the Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Front (SACCF) but south of the Polar Front. Although, most of the more frequently encountered sequences  were derived from common marine microorganisms, within these dominant groups, we found a proportion of genes related to secondary metabolism of potential interest in bioprospecting. Extremophiles were rare by comparison but belonged to a range of genera. Hence, they represented interesting targets from which to identify rare or novel functions. Ultimately, future shifts in environmental conditions favoring more cosmopolitan groups could have an unpredictable effect on microbial diversity and function in the Southern Ocean, perhaps excluding the rarer extremophiles.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.