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Characterization and comparison of potential denitrifiers in microbial mats from King George Island, Maritime Antarctica

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Abstract

Cyanobacterial microbial mats are highly structured communities commonly found in Antarctic inland waters including melt streams. These benthic microbial associations comprise a large number of microorganisms with different metabolic capacities, impacting nutrient dynamics where established. The denitrification process is a feasible nitrogen loss pathway and a biological source of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas that also promotes ozone depletion. Potential denitrifiers from five microbial mats were characterized using a PCR-DGGE (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis) approach. Molecular markers encoding for key enzymes in the denitrification process (nirK, nirS and nosZ) were used. Fingerprints were obtained for the five sampled mats and compared for two successive years. Distance analysis showed that despite the sampled year, the denitrifying genetic potential was similar between most of the sites when represented in Euclidean space. The number of dominant denitrifiers detected for each sample ranged between 6 and 18 for nirK, 4–10 for nirS and 6–17 for nosZ. The seventy-two sequenced phylotypes showed 80–98 % identity to previously reported environmental sequences from water column, sediments and soil samples. These results suggest that Antarctic microbial mats have a large denitrification potential, previously uncharacterized and composed by both site-specific and common phylotypes belonging mainly to Alpha-, Beta- and Gammaproteobacteria.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge Instituto Antártico Uruguayo, the staff of Base Científica Antártica Artigas and Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (Mexico) for their logistic and technical support. We also thank MSc. Osiris Gaona, MSc. Antonio Cruz-Peralta and Fermin S. Castillo-Sandoval for valuable technical support in the experimental and analytical processes. RJ A-H. and CM C. received postdoctoral (RJ A-H) and graduate (CM) scholarships from CONACyT, Mexico. Financial support was provided (LIF) by UNAM-PAPIIT (100212-3) and SEP-CONACyT (151796). LIF acknowledges sabbatical leave grants from CONACyT and PASPA-UNAM. We appreciate comments and suggestions from Paul R. Gill that substantially improved this manuscript.

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  1. Laboratorio de Ecología Bacteriana y Epigenética, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 3er Circuito Exterior sn. Ciudad Universitaria, Del. Coyoacán, 04510, Mexico, DF, Mexico

    Rocio J. Alcántara-Hernández, Carla M. Centeno & Luisa I. Falcón

  2. Centro Nacional de Investigación Disciplinaria en Conservación y Mejoramiento de Ecosistemas Forestales, INIFAP, Mexico, Mexico

    Alejandro Ponce-Mendoza

  3. Unidad de Microbiología Molecular, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable (MEC), Montevideo, Uruguay

    Silvia Batista

  4. Unidad Académica de Ecología Marina, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico, DF, Mexico

    Martin Merino-Ibarra

  5. Laboratorio de Biogeoquímica Terrestre y Clima, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico, DF, Mexico

    Julio Campo

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  1. Rocio J. Alcántara-Hernández
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  2. Carla M. Centeno
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Correspondence to Luisa I. Falcón.

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Alcántara-Hernández, R.J., Centeno, C.M., Ponce-Mendoza, A. et al. Characterization and comparison of potential denitrifiers in microbial mats from King George Island, Maritime Antarctica. Polar Biol 37, 403–416 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-013-1440-3

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