02435nas a2200277   4500008004100000245011000041210006900151260001200220300000700232490000700239520155100246653001501797653002601812653002401838653001301862653003001875100001901905700002401924700002101948700002401969700002101993700002302014700002202037700003302059856006502092       2022                        eng d00aLimits to the three domains of life: Lessons from community assembly along an Antarctic salinity gradient0 aLimits to the three domains of life Lessons from community assem  c04/2022  a150 v263 a<p>Extremophiles exist among all three domains of life; however, physiological mechanisms for surviving harsh environmental conditions differ among Bacteria, Archaea and Eukarya. Consequently, we expect that domain-specific variation of diversity and community assembly patterns exist along environmental gradients in extreme environments. We investigated inter-domain community compositional differences along a high-elevation salinity gradient in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Conductivity for 24 soil samples collected along the gradient ranged widely from 50 to 8355 &micro;S cm<sup>-1</sup>. Taxonomic richness varied among domains, with a total of 359 bacterial, 2 archaeal, 56 fungal, and 69 non-fungal eukaryotic operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Richness for bacteria, archaea, fungi, and non-fungal eukaryotes declined with increasing conductivity (all <em>P</em>&thinsp;&lt;&thinsp;0.05). Principal coordinate ordination analysis (PCoA) revealed significant (ANOSIM <em>R</em>&thinsp;=&thinsp;0.97) groupings of low/high salinity bacterial OTUs, while OTUs from other domains were not significantly clustered. Bacterial beta diversity was unimodally distributed along the gradient and had a nested structure driven by species losses, whereas in fungi and non-fungal eukaryotes beta diversity declined monotonically without strong evidence of nestedness. Thus, while increased salinity acts as a stressor in all domains, the mechanisms driving community assembly along the gradient differ substantially between the domains.</p>10aAntarctica10ainter-domain response10aMcMurdo Dry Valleys10asalinity10aspecies richness patterns1 aJiang, Xiaoben1 aVan Horn, David, J.1 aOkie, Jordan, G.1 aBuelow, Heather, N.1 aSchwartz, Egbert1 aColman, Daniel, R.1 aFeeser, Kelli, L.1 aTakacs-Vesbach, Cristina, D.  uhttps://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00792-022-01262-302753nas a2200325   4500008004100000022001400041245011500055210007300170260001200243300001800255490000800273520178400281653001002065653001402075653001602089653000802105653001002113653001002123653001402133653001102147100002802158700002102186700003302207700002202240700002202262700002402284700002902308700002102337856006902358       2021                        eng d  a2169-895300aYear‐round and long‐term phytoplankton dynamics in Lake Bonney, a permanently ice‐covered Antarctic lake0 aYear‐round and long‐term phytoplankton dynamics in Lake Bonney a  c04/2021  ae2020JG0059250 v1263 a<p>Lake Bonney (McMurdo Dry Valleys, east Antarctica) represents a year‐round refugium for life adapted to permanent extreme conditions. Despite intensive research since the 1960s, due to the logistical constraints posed by 4‐months of 24‐h darkness, knowledge of how the resident photosynthetic microorganisms respond to the polar winter is limited. In addition, the lake level has risen by more than 3 m since 2004: impacts of rapid lake level rise on phytoplankton community structure is also poorly understood. From 2004 to 2015 an in situ submersible spectrofluorometer (bbe FluoroProbe) was deployed in Lake Bonney during the austral summer to quantify the vertical structure of four functional algal groups (green algae, mixed algae, and cryptophytes, cyanobacteria). During the 2013&ndash;2014 field season the Fluoroprobe was mounted on autonomous cable‐crawling profilers deployed in both the east and west lobes of Lake Bonney, obtaining the first daily phytoplankton profiles through the polar night. Our findings showed that phytoplankton communities were differentially impacted by physical and chemical factors over long‐term versus seasonal time scales. Following a summer of rapid lake level rise (2010&ndash;2011), an increase in depth integrated chlorophyll a (chl‐a) occurred in Lake Bonney caused by stimulation of photoautotrophic green algae. Conversely, peaks in chl‐a during the polar night were associated with an increase in mixotrophic haptophytes and cryptophytes. Collectively our data reveal that phytoplankton groups possessing variable trophic abilities are differentially competitive during seasonal and long‐term time scales owing to periods of higher nutrients (photoautotrophs) versus light/energy limitation (mixotrophs).</p>10aalgae10aAntarctic10afluorometry10aice10alakes10alight10aprofiling10awinter1 aPatriarche, Jeffrey, D.1 aPriscu, John, C.1 aTakacs-Vesbach, Cristina, D.1 aWinslow, Luke, A.1 aMyers, Krista, F.1 aBuelow, Heather, N.1 aMorgan-Kiss, Rachael, M.1 aDoran, Peter, T.  uhttps://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2020JG00592502931nas a2200205   4500008004100000245011300041210006900154260001200223490000600235520222200241100002202463700002402485700002402509700002302533700002402556700002102580700002102601700003302622856007002655       2018                        eng d00aLocal and Regional Scale Heterogeneity Drive Bacterial Community Diversity and Composition in a Polar Desert0 aLocal and Regional Scale Heterogeneity Drive Bacterial Community  c08/20180 v93 a<p>The distribution of organisms in an environment is neither uniform nor random but is instead spatially patterned. The factors that control this patterning are complex and the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Soil microbes are critical to ecosystem function but exhibit highly complex distributions and community dynamics due in large part to the scale-dependent effects of environmental heterogeneity. To better understand the impact of environmental heterogeneity on the distribution of soil microbes, we sequenced the 16S rRNA gene from bacterial communities in the microbe-dominated polar desert ecosystem of the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV), Antarctica. Significant differences in key edaphic variables and alpha diversity were observed among the three lake basins of the Taylor Valley (Kruskal&ndash;Wallis; pH: χ2 = 68.89, P &lt; 0.001, conductivity: χ2 = 35.03, P &lt; 0.001, observed species: χ2 = 7.98, P = 0.019 and inverse Simpson: χ2 = 18.52, P &lt; 0.001) and each basin supported distinctive microbial communities (ANOSIM R = 0.466, P = 0.001, random forest ratio of 14.1). However, relationships between community structure and edaphic characteristics were highly variable and contextual, ranging in magnitude and direction across regional, basin, and local scales. Correlations among edaphic factors (pH and soil conductivity) and the relative abundance of specific phyla were most pronounced along local environmental gradients in the Lake Fryxell basin where Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria declined while Deinococcus&ndash;Thermus and Gemmatimonadetes increased with soil conductivity (all P &lt; 0.1). Species richness was most strongly related to the soil conductivity gradient present within this study system. We suggest that the relative importance of pH versus soil conductivity in structuring microbial communities is related to the length of edaphic gradients and the spatial scale of sampling. These results highlight the importance of conducting studies over large ranges of key environmental gradients and across multiple spatial scales to assess the influence of environmental heterogeneity on the composition and diversity of microbial communities.</p>1 aFeeser, Kelli, L.1 aVan Horn, David, J.1 aBuelow, Heather, N.1 aColman, Daniel, R.1 aMcHugh, Theresa, A.1 aOkie, Jordan, G.1 aSchwartz, Egbert1 aTakacs-Vesbach, Cristina, D.  uhttps://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2018.01928/full01830nas a2200193   4500008004100000245014200041210006900183260001200252300001400264490000700278520115100285100001801436700002601454700002401480700003301504700001701537700002001554856006201574       2017                        eng d00aDecoupled responses of soil bacteria and their invertebrate consumer to warming, but not freeze-thaw cycles, in the Antarctic Dry Valleys0 aDecoupled responses of soil bacteria and their invertebrate cons  c10/2017  a1242-12490 v203 a<p>Altered temperature profiles resulting in increased warming and freeze&ndash;thaw cycle (FTC) frequency pose great ecological challenges to organisms in alpine and polar ecosystems. We performed a laboratory microcosm experiment to investigate how temperature variability affects soil bacterial cell numbers, and abundance and traits of soil microfauna (the microbivorous nematode Scottnema lindsayae) from McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. FTCs and constant freezing shifted nematode body size distribution towards large individuals, driven by higher mortality among smaller individuals. FTCs reduced both bacterial and nematode abundance, but bacterial cell numbers also declined under warming, demonstrating decoupled consumer&ndash;prey responses. We predict that higher occurrence of FTCs in cold ecosystems will select for large body size within soil microinvertebrates and overall reduce their abundance. In contrast, warm temperatures without FTCs could lead to divergent responses in soil bacteria and their microinvertebrate consumers, potentially affecting energy and nutrient transfer rates in soil food webs of cold ecosystems.</p>1 aKnox, Matthew1 aAndriuzzi, Walter, S.1 aBuelow, Heather, N.1 aTakacs-Vesbach, Cristina, D.1 aAdams, Byron1 aWall, Diana, H.  uhttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.12819/full00676nas a2200181   4500008004100000245012900041210006900170260001200239490000600251100002400257700002000281700002400301700002200325700002500347700002100372700003300393856006800426       2016                        eng d00aMicrobial Community Responses to Increased Water and Organic Matter in the Arid Soils of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica0 aMicrobial Community Responses to Increased Water and Organic Mat  c07/20160 v71 aBuelow, Heather, N.1 aWinter, Ara, S.1 aVan Horn, David, J.1 aBarrett, John, E.1 aGooseff, Michael, N.1 aSchwartz, Egbert1 aTakacs-Vesbach, Cristina, D.  uhttp://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2016.0104002177nas a2200217   4500008004100000022001300041245014200054210006900196260001600265300001100281490000700292520131900299100002201618700002201640700002401662700002101686700002101707700003301728700002101761856017701782       2014                        eng d  a0025332400aAutonomous Year-Round Sampling and Sensing to Explore the Physical and Biological Habitability of Permanently Ice-Covered Antarctic Lakes0 aAutonomous YearRound Sampling and Sensing to Explore the Physica  cJan-09-2014  a8 - 170 v483 a<p><span style="color: rgb(45, 44, 44); font-family: OpenSansRegular; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.5714302062988px;">The lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, are some of the only systems on our planet that are perennially ice-covered and support year-round metabolism. As such, these ecosystems can provide important information on conditions and life in polar regions on Earth and on other icy worlds in our solar system. Working in these extreme environments of the Dry Valleys poses many challenges, particularly with respect to data collection during dark winter months when logistical constraints make fieldwork difficult. In this paper, we describe the motivation, design, and challenges for this recently deployed instrumentation in Lake Bonney, a lake that has been the subject of summer research efforts for more than 40 years. The instrumentation deployed includes autonomous water, phytoplankton, and sediment samplers as well as cable-mounted profiling platforms with dissolved gas and fluorometry sensors. Data obtained from these instruments will allow us, for the first time, to define the habitability of this environment during the polar night. We include lessons learned during deployment and recommendations for effective instrument operation in these extreme conditions.</span></p>1 aWinslow, Luke, A.1 aDugan, Hilary, A.1 aBuelow, Heather, N.1 aCronin, Kyle, D.1 aPriscu, John, C.1 aTakacs-Vesbach, Cristina, D.1 aDoran, Peter, T.  uhttp://openurl.ingenta.com/content/xref?genre=article&issn=0025-3324&volume=48&issue=5&spage=8http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mts/mtsj/2014/00000048/00000005/art0000202223nas a2200205   4500008004100000245012900041210006900170260001200239300001200251490000700263520146400270100001701734700002401751700002401775700002501799700002201824700003301846700001501879856012301894       2014                        eng d00aCharacterization of Growing Bacterial Populations in McMurdo Dry Valley Soils through Stable Isotope Probing with 18O-water.0 aCharacterization of Growing Bacterial Populations in McMurdo Dry  c08/2014  a415-4250 v893 aSoil microbial communities of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (MDV) contain representatives from at least fourteen bacterial phyla. However, given low rates of microbial activity, it is unclear whether this richness represents functioning rather than dormant members of the community. We used stable isotope probing (SIP) with (18) O-water to determine if microbial populations grow in MDV soils. Changes in the microbial community were characterized in soils amended with H2 (18) O and H2 (18) O-organic matter. Sequencing the 16S rRNA genes of the heavy and light fractions of the bacterial community DNA shows that DNA of microbial populations was labeled with (18) O-water, indicating these micro-organisms grew in the MDV soils. Significant differences existed in the community composition of the heavy and light fractions of the H2 (18) O and H2 (18) O-organic matter amended samples (Anosim P < 0.05 of weighted Unifrac distance). Control samples and the light DNA fraction of the H2 (18) O amended samples were dominated by representatives of the phyla Deinococcus-Thermus, Proteobacteria, Planctomyces, Gemmatimonadetes, Actinobacteria and Acidobacteria, whereas Proteobacteria were more prevalent in the heavy DNA fractions from the H2 (18) O-water and the H2 (18) O-water-organic matter treatments. Our results indicate that SIP with H2 (18) O can be used to distinguish active bacterial populations even in this low organic matter environment.1 aSchwartz, E.1 aVan Horn, David, J.1 aBuelow, Heather, N.1 aGooseff, Michael, N.1 aBarrett, John, E.1 aTakacs-Vesbach, Cristina, D.1 aOkie, J.G.  uhttps://mcm.lternet.edu/content/characterization-growing-bacterial-populations-mcmurdo-dry-valley-soils-through-stable02505nas a2200193   4500008004100000245011800041210006900159260001200228300001400240490000700254520178100261100002402042700001502066700002402081700002502105700002202130700003302152856012602185       2014                        eng d00aSoil microbial responses to increased moisture and organic resources along a salinity gradient in a polar desert.0 aSoil microbial responses to increased moisture and organic resou  c05/2014  a3034-30430 v803 aMicrobial communities in extreme environments often have low diversity and specialized physiologies suggesting a limited resistance to change. The McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV) are a microbially dominated, extreme ecosystem currently undergoing climate change-induced disturbances, including the melting of massive buried ice, cutting through of permafrost by streams, and warming events. These processes are increasing moisture across the landscape, altering conditions for soil communities by mobilizing nutrients and salts and stimulating autotrophic carbon inputs to soils. The goal of this study was to determine the effects of resource addition (water/organic matter) on the composition and function of microbial communities in the MDV along a natural salinity gradient representing an additional gradient of stress in an already extreme environment. Soil respiration and the activity of carbon-acquiring extracellular enzymes increased significantly (P < 0.05) with the addition of resources at the low- and moderate-salinity sites but not the high-salinity site. The bacterial community composition was altered, with an increase in Proteobacteria and Firmicutes with water and organic matter additions at the low- and moderate-salinity sites and a near dominance of Firmicutes at the high-salinity site. Principal coordinate analyses of all samples using a phylogenetically informed distance matrix (UniFrac) demonstrated discrete clustering among sites (analysis of similarity [ANOSIM], P < 0.05 and R > 0.40) and among most treatments within sites. The results from this experimental work suggest that microbial communities in this environment will undergo rapid change in response to the altered resources resulting from climate change impacts occurring in this region.1 aVan Horn, David, J.1 aOkie, J.G.1 aBuelow, Heather, N.1 aGooseff, Michael, N.1 aBarrett, John, E.1 aTakacs-Vesbach, Cristina, D.  uhttps://mcm.lternet.edu/content/soil-microbial-responses-increased-moisture-and-organic-resources-along-salinity-gradient