Spatial pattern in Antarctica: what can we learn from Antarctic bacterial isolates?

Chong, Chun Wie, Goh, Yuh Shan, Convey, Peter, Pearce, David and Tan, Irene (2013) Spatial pattern in Antarctica: what can we learn from Antarctic bacterial isolates? Extremophiles, 17 (5). pp. 733-745. ISSN 1431-0651

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Abstract

A range of small- to moderate-scale studies of patterns in bacterial biodiversity have been conducted in Antarctica over the last two decades, most suggesting strong correlations between the described bacterial communities and elements of local environmental heterogeneity. However, very few of these studies have advanced interpretations in terms of spatially associated patterns, despite increasing evidence of patterns in bacterial biogeography globally. This is likely to be a consequence of restricted sampling coverage, with most studies to date focusing only on a few localities within a specific Antarctic region. Clearly, there is now a need for synthesis over a much larger spatial to consolidate the available data. In this study, we collated Antarctic bacterial culture identities based on the 16S rRNA gene information available in the literature and the GenBank database (n > 2,000 sequences). In contrast to some recent evidence for a distinct Antarctic microbiome, our phylogenetic comparisons show that a majority (~75 %) of Antarctic bacterial isolates were highly similar (≥99 % sequence similarity) to those retrieved from tropical and temperate regions, suggesting widespread distribution of eurythermal mesophiles in Antarctic environments. However, across different Antarctic regions, the dominant bacterial genera exhibit some spatially distinct diversity patterns analogous to those recently proposed for Antarctic terrestrial macroorganisms. Taken together, our results highlight the threat of cross-regional homogenisation in Antarctic biodiversity, and the imperative to include microbiota within the framework of biosecurity measures for Antarctica.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	biodiversity, psychrophile ecology
Subjects:	C500 Microbiology F800 Physical and Terrestrial Geographical and Environmental Sciences
Department:	Faculties > Health and Life Sciences > Applied Sciences
Depositing User:	Ay Okpokam
Date Deposited:	07 Jul 2014 13:18
Last Modified:	12 Oct 2019 18:28
URI:	http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/16957

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