Home LiteratureArticle Details
PMID: 12839754 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Microbial diversity of cryptoendolithic communities from the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica.

Applied and environmental microbiology ·Vol. 69 ·No. 7 ·2003-07-00 ·Pages 3858-67

de la Torre JR, Goebel BM, Friedmann EI, Pace NR

Abstract

In the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, microorganisms colonize the pore spaces of exposed rocks and are thereby protected from the desiccating environmental conditions on the surface. These cryptoendolithic communities have received attention in microscopy and culture-based studies but have not been examined by molecular approaches. We surveyed the microbial biodiversity of selected cryptoendolithic communities by analyzing clone libraries of rRNA genes amplified from environmental DNA. Over 1,100 individual clones from two types of cryptoendolithic communities, cyanobacterium dominated and lichen dominated, were analyzed. Clones fell into 51 relatedness groups (phylotypes) with > or =98% rRNA sequence identity (46 bacterial and 5 eucaryal). No representatives of Archaea were detected. No phylotypes were shared between the two classes of endolithic communities studied. Clone libraries based on both types of communities were dominated by a relatively small number of phylotypes that, because of their relative abundance, presumably represent the main primary producers in these communities. In the lichen-dominated community, three rRNA sequences, from a fungus, a green alga, and a chloroplast, of the types known to be associated with lichens, accounted for over 70% of the clones. This high abundance confirms the dominance of lichens in this community. In contrast, analysis of the supposedly cyanobacterium-dominated community indicated, in addition to cyanobacteria, at least two unsuspected organisms that, because of their abundance, may play important roles in the community. These included a member of the alpha subdivision of the Proteobacteria that potentially is capable of aerobic anoxygenic photosynthesis and a distant relative of Deinococcus that defines, along with other Deinococcus-related sequences from Antarctica, a new clade within the Thermus-Deinococcus bacterial phylogenetic division.

MeSH Terms
Alphaproteobacteria/classification,genetics,growth & development Antarctic Regions Chloroplasts/genetics Cyanobacteria/classification,growth & development,isolation & purification Deinococcus/classification,genetics,growth & development Ecosystem Eukaryota/classification,genetics,growth & development Fungi/classification,genetics,growth & development Geological Phenomena Geology Hydrogen-Ion Concentration Lichens/classification,growth & development,isolation & purification Molecular Sequence Data RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics Sequence Analysis, DNA
Chemicals
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
Authors & Affiliations
4 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
de la Torre José R
Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3102, USA.
Goebel Brett M
Friedmann E Imre
Pace Norman R
References (29)
29 references, click to expand
  1. Aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria.
    Microbiol Mol Biol Rev. 1998 Sep;62(3):695-724 PMID: 9729607
  2. Cultural and phylogenetic analysis of mixed microbial populations found in natural and commercial bioleaching environments.
    Appl Environ Microbiol. 1994 May;60(5):1614-21 PMID: 7517131
  3. Specific ribosomal DNA sequences from diverse environmental settings correlate with experimental contaminants.
    Appl Environ Microbiol. 1998 Aug;64(8):3110-3 PMID: 9687486
  4. The RDP (Ribosomal Database Project) continues.
    Nucleic Acids Res. 2000 Jan 1;28(1):173-4 PMID: 10592216
  5. Characterization of 15 selected coccal bacteria isolated from Antarctic rock and soil samples from the McMurdo-Dry Valleys (South-Victoria Land).
    Polar Biol. 1988;9:37-44 PMID: 11538335
  6. Psychrophilic bacteria.
    Bacteriol Rev. 1975 Jun;39(2):144-67 PMID: 1095004
  7. Friedmanniella antarctica gen. nov., sp. nov., an LL-diaminopimelic acid-containing actinomycete from Antarctic sandstone.
    Int J Syst Bacteriol. 1997 Apr;47(2):278-83 PMID: 9103610
  8. Remarkable archaeal diversity detected in a Yellowstone National Park hot spring environment.
    Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1994 Mar 1;91(5):1609-13 PMID: 7510403
  9. Novel division level bacterial diversity in a Yellowstone hot spring.
    J Bacteriol. 1998 Jan;180(2):366-76 PMID: 9440526
  10. Phylogenetic stains: ribosomal RNA-based probes for the identification of single cells.
    Science. 1989 Mar 10;243(4896):1360-3 PMID: 2466341
  11. Novel kingdom-level eukaryotic diversity in anoxic environments.
    Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 Jun 11;99(12):8324-9 PMID: 12060775
  12. Why is Deinococcus radiodurans so resistant to ionizing radiation?
    Trends Microbiol. 1999 Sep;7(9):362-5 PMID: 10470044
  13. Perennial Antarctic lake ice: an oasis for life in a polar desert.
    Science. 1998 Jun 26;280(5372):2095-8 PMID: 9641910
  14. Visualization and enumeration of marine planktonic archaea and bacteria by using polyribonucleotide probes and fluorescent in situ hybridization.
    Appl Environ Microbiol. 1999 Dec;65(12):5554-63 PMID: 10584017
  15. Phylogenetic identification and in situ detection of individual microbial cells without cultivation.
    Microbiol Rev. 1995 Mar;59(1):143-69 PMID: 7535888
  16. Radioresistance of Deinococcus radiodurans: functions necessary to survive ionizing radiation are also necessary to survive prolonged desiccation.
    J Bacteriol. 1996 Feb;178(3):633-7 PMID: 8550493
  17. rRNA operon copy number reflects ecological strategies of bacteria.
    Appl Environ Microbiol. 2000 Apr;66(4):1328-33 PMID: 10742207
  18. Bias caused by template annealing in the amplification of mixtures of 16S rRNA genes by PCR.
    Appl Environ Microbiol. 1996 Feb;62(2):625-30 PMID: 8593063
  19. Endolithic blue-green algae in the dry valleys: primary producers in the antarctic desert ecosystem.
    Science. 1976 Sep 24;193(4259):1247-9 PMID: 17837022
  20. Epilithic lichens in the Beacon sandstone formation, Victoria Land, Antarctica.
    Lichenologist. 1987;19(3):269-87 PMID: 11539716
  21. Ionizing-radiation resistance in the desiccation-tolerant cyanobacterium Chroococcidiopsis.
    Appl Environ Microbiol. 2000 Apr;66(4):1489-92 PMID: 10742231
  22. Cryptoendolithic lichen and cyanobacterial communities of the Ross Desert, Antarctica.
    Polarforschung. 1988;58(2-3):251-9 PMID: 11538357
  23. Origin and Phylogeny of Microbes Living in Permanent Antarctic Lake Ice.
    Microb Ecol. 2000 Apr;39(3):197-202 PMID: 12035096
  24. Endolithic microorganisms in the antarctic cold desert.
    Science. 1982 Feb 26;215(4536):1045-53 PMID: 17771821
  25. Bacterial activity in South Pole snow.
    Appl Environ Microbiol. 2000 Oct;66(10):4514-7 PMID: 11010907
  26. Microbial diversity in a hydrocarbon- and chlorinated-solvent-contaminated aquifer undergoing intrinsic bioremediation.
    Appl Environ Microbiol. 1998 Oct;64(10):3869-77 PMID: 9758812
  27. Temperature response of Antarctic cryptoendolithic photosynthetic microorganisms.
    Polarforschung. 1988;58(2-3):121-4 PMID: 11538353
  28. Nuclear-encoded rDNA group I introns: origin and phylogenetic relationships of insertion site lineages in the green algae.
    Mol Biol Evol. 1996 Sep;13(7):978-89 PMID: 8752006
  29. Gapped BLAST and PSI-BLAST: a new generation of protein database search programs.
    Nucleic Acids Res. 1997 Sep 1;25(17):3389-402 PMID: 9254694
Article Info
Journal
Applied and environmental microbiology
Abbr.
Appl Environ Microbiol
ISSN
0099-2240
DOI
10.1128/AEM.69.7.3858-3867.2003
Published
2003-07-00
Pages
3858-67
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
7605801
PMCID
PMC165166
Subset
IM
Databases
GENBANK
AY250846, AY250847, AY250848, AY250849, AY250850, AY250851, AY250852, AY250853, AY250854, AY250855, AY250856, AY250857, AY250858, AY250859, AY250860, AY250861, AY250862, AY250863, AY250864, AY250865, AY250866, AY250867, AY250868, AY250869, AY250870, AY250871, AY250872, AY250873, AY250874, AY250875, AY250876, AY250877, AY250878, AY250879, AY250880, AY250881, AY250882, AY250883, AY250884, AY250885, AY250886, AY250887, AY250888, AY250889, AY250890, AY250891, AY250892, AY250893, AY250894, AY250895, AY250896, AY250897, AY250898
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1128/AEM.69.7.3858-3867.2003 PMC Full Text View journal details
Analysis Services
Analysis Services

Contact

No. 2 Wenbo Road, Zhangqiu District, Jinan, Shandong

Qilu Normal University · Genelibs Bioinformatics Lab

750 Shunhua Rd, Jinan

2F, Bldg F, University Science Park

Tel: 0531-88819269

WeChat Official Account

Follow our WeChat subscription account for real-time updates and the latest in medical and biological research.


Business Email

E-mail: product@genelibs.com

Copyright © 2026.Genelibs Jinan Honghui Biotechnology Co., Ltd. 鲁ICP备20007159号-2