Phylogenetically and functionally diverse microorganisms reside under the Ross Ice Shelf

Clara Martínez-Pérez, Chris Greening, Sean K. Bay, Rachael J. Lappan, Zihao Zhao, Daniele De Corte, Christina Hulbe, Christian Ohneiser, Craig Stevens, Blair Thomson, Ramunas Stepanauskas, José M. González, Ramiro Logares, Gerhard J. Herndl, Sergio E. Morales () and Federico Baltar ()
Additional contact information
Clara Martínez-Pérez: University of Vienna
Chris Greening: Monash University
Sean K. Bay: Monash University
Rachael J. Lappan: Monash University
Zihao Zhao: University of Vienna
Daniele De Corte: Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg
Christina Hulbe: University of Otago
Christian Ohneiser: University of Otago
Craig Stevens: National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
Blair Thomson: University of Otago
Ramunas Stepanauskas: Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
José M. González: University of La Laguna
Ramiro Logares: Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC)
Gerhard J. Herndl: University of Vienna
Sergio E. Morales: University of Otago
Federico Baltar: University of Vienna

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Abstract Throughout coastal Antarctica, ice shelves separate oceanic waters from sunlight by hundreds of meters of ice. Historical studies have detected activity of nitrifying microorganisms in oceanic cavities below permanent ice shelves. However, little is known about the microbial composition and pathways that mediate these activities. In this study, we profiled the microbial communities beneath the Ross Ice Shelf using a multi-omics approach. Overall, beneath-shelf microorganisms are of comparable abundance and diversity, though distinct composition, relative to those in the open meso- and bathypelagic ocean. Production of new organic carbon is likely driven by aerobic lithoautotrophic archaea and bacteria that can use ammonium, nitrite, and sulfur compounds as electron donors. Also enriched were aerobic organoheterotrophic bacteria capable of degrading complex organic carbon substrates, likely derived from in situ fixed carbon and potentially refractory organic matter laterally advected by the below-shelf waters. Altogether, these findings uncover a taxonomically distinct microbial community potentially adapted to a highly oligotrophic marine environment and suggest that ocean cavity waters are primarily chemosynthetically-driven systems.

Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-27769-5 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-27769-5

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27769-5

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().