Persistence of bacterial and archaeal communities in sea ice through an Arctic winter.
The structure of bacterial communities in first-year spring and summer sea ice differs from that in source seawaters, suggesting selection during ice formation in autumn or taxon-specific mortality in the ice during winter. We tested these hypotheses by weekly sampling (January-March 2004) of first-year winter sea ice (Franklin Bay, Western Arctic) that experienced temperatures from -9 degrees C to -26 degrees C, generating community fingerprints and clone libraries for Bacteria and Archaea. Despite severe conditions and significant decreases in microbial abundance, no significant changes in richness or community structure were detected in the ice. Communities of Bacteria and Archaea in the ice, as in under-ice seawater, were dominated by SAR11 clade Alphaproteobacteria and Marine Group I Crenarchaeota, neither of which is known from later season sea ice. The bacterial ice library contained clones of Gammaproteobacteria from oligotrophic seawater clades (e.g. OM60, OM182) but no clones from gammaproteobacterial genera commonly detected in later season sea ice by similar methods (e.g. Colwellia, Psychrobacter). The only common sea ice bacterial genus detected in winter ice was Polaribacter. Overall, selection during ice formation and mortality during winter appear to play minor roles in the process of microbial succession that leads to distinctive spring and summer sea ice communities.
Collins
R Eric
RE
School of Oceanography, Box 357940, 1503 NE Boat St., University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. rec3141@ocean.washington.edu
Rocap
Gabrielle
G
Deming
Jody W
JW
D001105:Archaea / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001110:Arctic Regions; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D044822:Biodiversity; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003080:Cold Temperature; D019641:DNA, Archaeal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D056890:Eukaryota / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D020459:Genes, rRNA; D046448:Ice Cover; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D019642:RNA, Archaeal / Q000235:genetics; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012621:Seasons; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
D019641:DNA, Archaeal; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D019642:RNA, Archaeal; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S