Abstract
The McMurdo Dry Valleys (MCM) of southern Victoria Land, Antarctica, harbor numerous ice-covered bodies of water that provide year-round liquid water oases for isolated food webs dominated by the microbial loop. Single-cell microbial eukaryotes (protists) occupy major trophic positions within this truncated food web, ranging from primary producers (e.g., chlorophytes, haptophytes, and cryptophytes) to tertiary predators (e.g., ciliates, dinoflagellates, and choanoflagellates). To advance the understanding of MCM protist ecology and the roles of MCM protists in nutrient and energy cycling, we investigated potential metabolic strategies and microbial interactions of key MCM protists isolated from a well-described lake (Lake Bonney). Fluorescenceactivated cell sorting (FACS) of enrichment cultures, combined with single amplified genome/amplicon sequencing and fluorescence microscopy, revealed that MCM protists possess diverse potential metabolic capabilities and interactions. Two metabolically distinct bacterial clades (Flavobacteria and Methylobacteriaceae) were independently associated with two key MCM lake microalgae (Isochrysis and Chlamydomonas, respectively). We also report on the discovery of two heterotrophic nanoflagellates belonging to the Stramenopila supergroup, one of which lives as a parasite of Chlamydomonas, a dominate primary producer in the shallow, nutrient-poor layers of the lake.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 3659-3670 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Applied and Environmental Microbiology |
Volume | 82 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 1 2016 |
Funding
This work, including the efforts of Rachael M. Morgan-Kiss, was funded by National Science Foundation (NSF) (1056396).
Funders | Funder number |
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National Science Foundation | |
Directorate for Geosciences | 1056396 |