title: Metagenomic and satellite analyses of red snow in the Russian Arctic.
abstract: Cryophilic algae thrive in liquid water within snow and ice in alpine and polar regions worldwide. Blooms of these algae lower albedo (reflection of sunlight), thereby altering melting patterns (Kohshima, Seko & Yoshimura, 1993; Lutz et al., 2014; Thomas & Duval, 1995). Here metagenomic DNA analysis and satellite imaging were used to investigate red snow in Franz Josef Land in the Russian Arctic. Franz Josef Land red snow metagenomes confirmed that the communities are composed of the autotroph Chlamydomonas nivalis that is supporting a complex viral and heterotrophic bacterial community. Comparisons with white snow communities from other sites suggest that white snow and ice are initially colonized by fungal-dominated communities and then succeeded by the more complex C. nivalis-heterotroph red snow. Satellite image analysis showed that red snow covers up to 80% of the surface of snow and ice fields in Franz Josef Land and globally. Together these results show that C. nivalis supports a local food web that is on the rise as temperatures warm, with potential widespread impacts on alpine and polar environments worldwide.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, San Diego State University , San Diego, CA , United States.
authors.forename: Nao
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hisakawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, San Diego State University , San Diego, CA , United States.
authors.forename: Steven D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Quistad
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, San Diego State University , San Diego, CA , United States ; Department of Microbiology, Radboud University Nijmegen , Nijmegen , Netherlands.
authors.forename: Eric R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Hester
authors.affiliation: White Sea Biological Station, Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences , St. Petersburg , Russia ; National Park Russian Arctic , Archangelsk , Russia.
authors.forename: Daria
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Martynova
authors.affiliation: Ronin Institute , Montclair, NJ , United States.
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Maughan
authors.affiliation: National Geographic Society , Washington, DC , United States.
authors.forename: Enric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sala
authors.affiliation: National Park Russian Arctic , Archangelsk , Russia.
authors.forename: Maria V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Gavrilo
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, San Diego State University , San Diego, CA , United States.
authors.forename: Forest
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rohwer
keywords: Arctic; Franz Josef Land; Metagenomics; Phage; Red snow; Snow; Viruses; Watermelon snow