Multiple energy sources and metabolic strategies sustain microbial diversity in Antarctic desert soils


Citation
Ortiz et al. (2021). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118 (45)
Names (5)
Subjects
Multidisciplinary
Abstract
Significance Diverse microbial life has been detected in the cold desert soils of Antarctica once thought to be barren. Here, we provide metagenomic, biogeochemical, and culture-based evidence that Antarctic soil microorganisms are phylogenetically and functionally distinct from those in other soils and adopt various metabolic and ecological strategies. The most abundant community members are metabolically versatile aerobes that use ubiquitous atmospheric trace gases to potentially meet energy, carbon, and, through metabolic water production, hydration needs. Lineages capable of harvesting solar energy, oxidizing edaphic inorganic substrates, or adopting symbiotic lifestyles were also identified. Altogether, these findings provide insights into microbial adaptation to extreme water and energy limitation and will inform ongoing efforts to conserve the unique biodiversity on this continent.
Authors
Publication date
2021-11-09
DOI
10.1073/pnas.2025322118

© 2022-2024 The SeqCode Initiative
  All information contributed to the SeqCode Registry is released under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license