Journal
POLAR BIOLOGY
Volume 35, Issue 9, Pages 1375-1393Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s00300-012-1178-3
Keywords
Glacier; Cryoconite; Microbial diversity; Biogeochemical; Carbon; Nitrogen
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Funding
- University of Sheffield
- Leverhulme Research Fellowship [RF/4/RFG/2007/0398]
- NERC
- NSF-OPP [0739783, 1023462]
- Directorate For Geosciences
- Office of Polar Programs (OPP) [0739783, 1023462] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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Microorganisms have a crucial role to play in the cycling of nutrients within glacial environments. These systems are often nutrient-limited, and so biogeochemical reactions, which ensure the availability of nutrients for microbial communities, are critical for the maintenance of these systems. This study uses molecular biology to characterise the supraglacial cryoconite microbial communities that are capable of cycling carbon and nitrogen in a range of glacial environments. Organisms with the potential to photosynthesise were identified, including Cyanobacteria, Actinobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, Stramenopiles and Haptophyceae. Organisms with the potential to perform nitrification and denitrification processes were also identified and featured Betaproteobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Thaumarchaeota and Cyanobacteria. While it is unlikely that the chemical and physical parameters of the supraglacial environment will facilitate optimal rates of all of the nitrogen-related biogeochemical processes, the transport of these cryoconite communities to downstream locations, where more favourable conditions may prevail, will perhaps provide a valuable inoculation of microorganisms with the genetic potential to catalyse these reactions elsewhere.
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