title: Snow surface microbiome on the High Antarctic Plateau (DOME C).
abstract: The cryosphere is an integral part of the global climate system and one of the major habitable ecosystems of Earth's biosphere. These permanently frozen environments harbor diverse, viable and metabolically active microbial populations that represent almost all the major phylogenetic groups. In this study, we investigated the microbial diversity in the surface snow surrounding the Concordia Research Station on the High Antarctic Plateau through a polyphasic approach, including direct prokaryotic quantification by flow cytometry and catalyzed reporter deposition fluorescence in situ hybridization (CARD-FISH), and phylogenetic identification by 16S RNA gene clone library sequencing and 454 16S amplicon pyrosequencing. Although the microbial abundance was low (<10(3) cells/ml of snowmelt), concordant results were obtained with the different techniques. The microbial community was mainly composed of members of the Alpha-proteobacteria class (e.g. Kiloniellaceae and Rhodobacteraceae), which is one of the most well-represented bacterial groups in marine habitats, Bacteroidetes (e.g. Cryomorphaceae and Flavobacteriaceae) and Cyanobacteria. Based on our results, polar microorganisms could not only be considered as deposited airborne particles, but as an active component of the snowpack ecology of the High Antarctic Plateau.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Michaud
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Angelina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lo Giudice
authors.affiliation: Unit of Microbiology, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK•CEN), Mol, Belgium; Department of Bioscience Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mysara
authors.affiliation: Unit of Microbiology, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK•CEN), Mol, Belgium.
authors.forename: Pieter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Monsieurs
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Carmela
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Raffa
authors.affiliation: Unit of Microbiology, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK•CEN), Mol, Belgium.
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Leys
authors.affiliation: Water Research Institute, National Research Council (IRSA-CNR), Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Amalfitano
authors.affiliation: Unit of Microbiology, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK•CEN), Mol, Belgium.
authors.forename: Rob
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Van Houdt
mesh_terms: D000864:Antarctic Regions; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D044822:Biodiversity; D064307:Microbiota / Q000502:physiology*; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
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