Abstract
The anthropogenic effect on the microbial communities in alpine glacier cryoconites was investigated by cultivation and physiological characterization of bacteria from six cryoconite samples taken at sites with different amounts of human impact. Two hundred and forty seven bacterial isolates were included in Actinobacteria (9%, particularly Arthrobacter), Bacteroidetes (14%, particularly Olleya), Firmicutes (0.8%), Alphaproteobacteria (2%), Betaproteobacteria (16%, particularly Janthinobacterium), and Gammaproteobacteria (59%, particularly Pseudomonas). Among them, isolates of Arthrobacter were detected only in samples from sites with no human impact, while isolates affiliated with Enterobacteriaceae were detected only in samples from sites with strong human impact. Bacterial isolates included in Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes were frequently isolated from pristine sites and showed low maximum growth temperature and enzyme secretion. Bacterial isolates included in Gammaproteobacteria were more frequently isolated from sites with stronger human impact and showed high maximum growth temperature and enzyme secretion. Ecotypic differences were not evident among isolates of Janthinobacterium lividum, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Pseudomonas veronii, which were frequently isolated from sites with different degrees of anthropogenic effect.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
References
Bai, Y., D. Yang, J. Wang, S. Xu, X. Wang, and L. An. 2006. Phylogenetic diversity of culturable bacteria from alpine permafrost in the Tianshan Mountains, northwestern China. Res. Microbiol. 157, 741–751.
Christner, B.C., B.H. Kvitko, II., and J.N. Reeve. 2003. Molecular identification of bacteria and eukarya inhabiting an Antarctic cryoconite hole. Extremophiles 7, 177–183.
Chun, J., J.H. Lee, Y. Jung, M. Kim, S. Kim, B.K. Kim, and Y.W. Lim. 2007. EzTaxon: a web-based tool for the identification of prokaryotes based on 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 57, 2259–2261.
Dorigo, U., A. Bérard, and J.F. Humbert. 2002. Comparison of eukaryotic phytobenthic community composition in a polluted river by partial 18S rRNA gene cloning and sequencing. Microb. Ecol. 44, 372–380.
Ellis, R.J., P. Morgan, A.J. Weightman, and J.C. Fry. 2003. Cultivation-dependent and -independent approaches for determining bacterial diversity in heavy-metal-contaminated soil. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69, 3223–3230.
Felsenstein, J. 2009. PHYLIP (Phylogeny Inference Package) version 3.69. Distributed by the author. Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Hancock, P.J. 2002. Human impacts on the stream-groundwater exchange zone. Environ. Manag. 29, 763–781.
Ikner, L.A., R.S. Toomey, G. Nolan, J.W. Neilson, B.M. Pryor, and R.M. Maier. 2007. Culturable microbial diversity and the impact of tourism in Kartchner Caverns, Arizona. Microb. Ecol. 53, 30–42.
Jiang, H.L., S.T.L. Tay, A.M. Maszenan, and J.H. Tay. 2006. Physiological traits of bacterial strains isolated from phenol-degrading aerobic granules. FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 57, 182–191.
Kimura, M. 1980. A simple method for estimating evolutionary rates of base substitutions through comparative studies of nucleotide sequences. J. Mol. Evol. 16, 111–120.
Kirk, J.L., L.A. Beaudette, M. Hart, P. Moutoglis, J.N. Klironomos, H. Lee, and J.T. Trevors. 2004. Methods of studying soil microbial diversity. J. Microbiol. Methods 58, 169–188.
Labbé, D., R. Margesin, F. Schinner, L.G. Whyte, and C.W. Greer. 2007. Comparative phylogenetic analysis of microbial communities in pristine and hydrocarbon-contaminated Alpine soils. FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 59, 466–475.
Lane, D.J. 1991. 16S/23S rRNA sequencing, pp. 115–175. In E. Stackebrandt and M. Goodfellow (eds.), Nucleic Acid Techniques in Bacterial Systematics. John Wiley & Sons Press, New York, NY, USA.
Margesin, R., H. Dieplinger, J. Hofmann, B. Sarg, and H. Lindner. 2005. A cold-active extracellular metalloprotease from Pedobacter cryoconitis: production and properties. Res. Microbiol. 156, 499–505.
Margesin, R., P.A. Fonteyne, F. Schinner, and J.P. Sampaio. 2007. Rhodotorula psychrophila sp. nov., Rhodotorula psychrophenolica sp. nov. and Rhodotorula glacialis sp. nov., novel psychrophilic basidiomycetous yeast species isolated from alpine environments. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 57, 2179–2184.
Margesin, R., D. Labbé, F. Schinner, C.W. Greer, and L.G. Whyte. 2003a. Charcterization of hydrocarbon-degrading microbial populations in contaminated and pristine alpine soils. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69, 3085–3092.
ai]Margesin, R., C. Spröer, P. Schumann, and F. Schinner. 2003b. Pedobacter cryoconitis sp. nov., a facultative psychrophile from alpine glacier cryoconite. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 53, 1291–1296.
Margesin, R., G. Zacke, and F. Schinner. 2002. Characterization of heterotrophic microorganisms in alpine glacier cryoconite. Arct. Antarct. Alp. Res. 34, 88–93.
Mueller, D.R., W.F. Vincent, W.H. Pollard, and C.H. Fritsen. 2001. Glacial cryoconite ecosystems: a bipolar comparison of algal communities and habitats. Nova Hedwigia 123, 173–197.
Nocker, A., J.E. Lepo, and R.A. Snyder. 2004. Influence of an oyster reef on development of the microbial heterotrophic community of an estuarine biofilm. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70, 6834–6845.
Øvreås, L., S. Jensen, F.L. Daae, and V. Torsvik. 1998. Microbial community changes in a perturbed agricultural soil investigated by molecular and physiological approaches. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 64, 2739–2742.
Paerl, H.W. 1998. Structure and function of anthropogenically altered microbial communities in coastal waters. Curr. Opin. Microbiol. 1, 296–302.
Powell, S.M., J.P. Bowman, I. Snape, and J.S. Stark. 2003. Microbial community variation in pristine and polluted nearshore Antarctic sediments. FEMS Microb. Ecol. 45, 135–145.
Saitou, N. and M. Nei. 1987. The neighbor-joining method: a new method for reconstructing phylogenetic trees. Mol. Biol. Evol. 4, 406–425.
Saul, D.J., J.M. Aislabie, C.E. Brown, L. Harris, and J.M. Foght. 2005. Hydrocarbon contamination changes the bacterial diversity of soil from around Scott Base, Antarctica. FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 53, 141–155.
Säwström, C., P. Mumford, W. Marshall, A. Hodson, and J. Laybourn-Parry. 2002. The microbial communities and primary productivity of cryoconite holes in an Arctic glacier (Svalbard 79°N). Pol. Biol. 25, 591–596.
Stibal, M., M. Šabacká, and K. Kaštovská. 2006. Microbial communities on glacier surfaces in Svalbard: impact of physical and chemical properties on abundance and structure of cyanobacteria and algae. Microb. Ecol. 52, 644–654.
Stibal, M., M. Tranter, L.G. Benning, and J. Řehák. 2008. Microbial primary production on an Arctic glacier is insignificant in comparison with allochthonous organic carbon input. Environ. Microbiol. 10, 2172–2178.
Takeuchi, N., S. Kohshima, and K. Seko. 2001. Structure, formation, and darkening process of albedo-reducing material (cryoconite) on a Himalayan glacier: a granular algal mat growing on the glacier. Arct. Antarct. Alp. Res. 33, 115–122.
Webster, N.S. and A.P. Negri. 2006. Site-specific variation in Antarctic marine biofilms established on artificial surfaces. Environ. Microbiol. 8, 1177–1190.
Wharton, R.A., Jr., C.P. McKay, G.M. Simmons, Jr., and B.C. Parker. 1985. Cryoconite holes on glaciers. BioScience 35, 499–503.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lee, Y.M., Kim, SY., Jung, J. et al. Cultured bacterial diversity and human impact on alpine glacier cryoconite. J Microbiol. 49, 355–362 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-011-0232-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-011-0232-0
Keywords
- bacterial diversity
- cryoconite
- human impact