BioTechniques News
Beatrice Bowlby
An extraordinary ensemble of microorganisms, found nowhere else on Earth, have been discovered in Antarctica, adding to the southern continent’s mystique and hinting at just how much life is still to be discovered there.
Scientists from the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder (CO, USA) have uncovered a treasure trove of microbes in Antarctic soil that are unlike those anywhere else on the planet. The bacteria appear to be uniquely adapted to their extreme conditions, and their discovery underscores how microscopic organisms need to be included in the conversation regarding protecting Antarctic biodiversity.
Antarctic soils are one of the most extreme environments on Earth, yet they play home to a diverse array of microbial communities about which we know surprisingly little. Biologists have long theorized that microorganisms of the frozen continent are unique from those found elsewhere, adapted to tough out the severe cold and dry conditions of this geographically isolated place that other, less hardy species wouldn’t survive.
To find out whether this is indeed the case, the team dug deeper, comparing soil samples from Antarctica and similarly extreme environments including the Tibetan Plateau, Svalbard and Chile’s Atacama Desert. Within these samples, they examined Arthrobacter, a bacterial genus that is common in soils worldwide.
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They began by profiling a global metagenomic dataset from Antarctic and non-Antarctic soils, which allowed them to quantify the distributions of different Arthrobacter variants from inside and outside Antarctica. Doing so revealed high strain-level diversity; despite this, 90% of the strains in Antarctic soils were found exclusively on the continent.
Next, the researchers conducted cultivation-based phenotypic analyses, using soil samples to grow strains of Arthrobacter in the lab under conditions designed to mimic the harsh environment of Antarctica. This, in conjunction with strain-level genomic comparisons, further demonstrated that Antarctic strains differ from their relatives found in other parts of the globe, in terms of both genomic traits and environmental preferences, suggesting they are uniquely adapted to Antarctic conditions.
“We already knew that a broad diversity of microbes can survive the inhospitable conditions of Antarctica. Now we know that some of those microbes are also unique to Antarctica and are uniquely adapted to life on the southern continent,” study co-author Noah Fierer concluded of the group’s findings.
The work also provides hope that we could discover one-of-a-kind microorganisms in other places, Fierer added: “Finding organisms distinct in Antarctica and only found there does suggest there could be some in other locations; whether other microbial groups show these patterns is a good direction to go.”
It also has implications for future efforts to preserve biodiversity in the Antarctic. As well as looking out for the obvious candidates, like penguins, seals and whales, we need to consider species we can’t see with the naked eye.
“This [research] shows that some of Antarctica’s most distinctive species are microscopic,” co-author Byron Adams explained. “Protecting Antarctic biodiversity also means protecting the biological history contained in a handful of soil.”
The post Antarctica is home to a treasure trove of microbes found nowhere else on the planet appeared first on BioTechniques.
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