Microbial ecology of the cryosphere: sea ice and glacial habitats.
The Earth's cryosphere comprises those regions that are cold enough for water to turn into ice. Recent findings show that the icy realms of polar oceans, glaciers and ice sheets are inhabited by microorganisms of all three domains of life, and that temperatures below 0 °C are an integral force in the diversification of microbial life. Cold-adapted microorganisms maintain key ecological functions in icy habitats: where sunlight penetrates the ice, photoautotrophy is the basis for complex food webs, whereas in dark subglacial habitats, chemoautotrophy reigns. This Review summarizes current knowledge of the microbial ecology of frozen waters, including the diversity of niches, the composition of microbial communities at these sites and their biogeochemical activities.
Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany.|Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Celsiusstraße 1, 28359 Bremen, Germany.
Antje
A
Boetius
Bristol Glaciology Center, School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, BS8 1SS, UK.
Alexandre M
AM
Anesio
School of Oceanography, Box 357940, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
Jody W
JW
Deming
Department of Biology, 276 Bicentennial Way, Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont 05753, USA.
Jill A
JA
Mikucki
Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany.|Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Celsiusstraße 1, 28359 Bremen, Germany.
Josephine Z
JZ
Rapp
D017753:Ecosystem; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D046448:Ice Cover / Q000382:microbiology*; D014871:Water Microbiology