Scientific article
OA Policy
English

Snow Microorganisms Colonise Arctic Soils Following Snow Melt

Published inMicrobial ecology, vol. 86, no. 3, p. 1661-1675
Publication date2023-10
First online date2023-03-20
Abstract

Arctic soils are constantly subjected to microbial invasion from either airborne, marine, or animal sources, which may impact local microbial communities and ecosystem functioning. However, in winter, Arctic soils are isolated from outside sources other than snow, which is the sole source of microorganisms. Successful colonisation of soil by snow microorganisms depends on the ability to survive and compete of both, the invading and resident community. Using shallow shotgun metagenome sequencing and amplicon sequencing, this study monitored snow and soil microbial communities throughout snow melt to investigate the colonisation process of Arctic soils. Microbial colonisation likely occurred as all the characteristics of successful colonisation were observed. The colonising microorganisms originating from the snow were already adapted to the local environmental conditions and were subsequently subjected to many similar conditions in the Arctic soil. Furthermore, competition-related genes (e.g. motility and virulence) increased in snow samples as the snow melted. Overall, one hundred potentially successful colonisers were identified in the soil and, thus, demonstrated the deposition and growth of snow microorganisms in soils during melt.

Keywords
  • Airborne dispersal
  • Arctic ecosystems
  • Bacterial diversity
  • Coalescence
  • Microbial colonisation
  • Snow
  • Soils
Affiliation entities Not a UNIGE publication
Funding
  • Institut Polaire Français Paul Emile Victor [1192]
  • European Commission - Microorganisms in Warming Arctic Environments [675546]
Citation (ISO format)
MALARD, Lucie et al. Snow Microorganisms Colonise Arctic Soils Following Snow Melt. In: Microbial ecology, 2023, vol. 86, n° 3, p. 1661–1675. doi: 10.1007/s00248-023-02204-y
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Article (Published version)
Identifiers
Additional URL for this publicationhttps://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00248-023-02204-y
Journal ISSN0095-3628
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27downloads

Technical informations

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