02343nas a2200217 4500008004100000245011300041210006900154260001200223490000700235520161700242653001501859653001301874653001401887653001701901653001001918100002401928700002901952700001601981700003301997856009502030 2024 eng d00aAntarctic lake viromes reveal potential virus associated influences on nutrient cycling in ice-covered lakes0 aAntarctic lake viromes reveal potential virus associated influen c09/20240 v153 a

The McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDVs) of Antarctica are a mosaic of extreme habitats which are dominated by microbial life. The MDVs include glacial melt holes, streams, lakes, and soils, which are interconnected through the transfer of energy and flux of inorganic and organic material via wind and hydrology. For the first time, we provide new data on the viral community structure and function in the MDVs through metagenomics of the planktonic and benthic mat communities of Lakes Bonney and Fryxell. Viral taxonomic diversity was compared across lakes and ecological function was investigated by characterizing auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) and predicting viral hosts. Our data suggest that viral communities differed between the lakes and among sites: these differences were connected to microbial host communities. AMGs were associated with the potential augmentation of multiple biogeochemical processes in host, most notably with phosphorus acquisition, organic nitrogen acquisition, sulfur oxidation, and photosynthesis. Viral genome abundances containing AMGs differed between the lakes and microbial mats, indicating site specialization. Using procrustes analysis, we also identified significant coupling between viral and bacterial communities (p = 0.001). Finally, host predictions indicate viral host preference among the assembled viromes. Collectively, our data show that: (i) viruses are uniquely distributed through the McMurdo Dry Valley lakes, (ii) their AMGs can contribute to overcoming host nutrient limitation and, (iii) viral and bacterial MDV communities are tightly coupled.

10aAntarctica10abacteria10alimnology10ametagenomics10avirus1 aRobinson, David, M.1 aMorgan-Kiss, Rachael, M.1 aWang, Zhong1 aTakacs-Vesbach, Cristina, D. uhttps://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1422941/full02559nas a2200301 4500008004100000245008000041210006900121260001200190300001200202490000700214520166000221653001501881653001601896653002901912653001801941653001201959100002901971700001802000700002202018700002002040700002202060700001202082700001602094700002602110700002102136700003302157856006702190 2024 eng d00aSentinel protist taxa of the McMurdo Dry Valley lakes, Antarctica: A review0 aSentinel protist taxa of the McMurdo Dry Valley lakes Antarctica c03/2024 a13234720 v123 a

High-latitude meromictic lakes such as those in the Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV) harbor aquatic ecosystems dominated by the microbial loop. Within this habitat, which is limited year-round by light and nutrients, protists, or single celled eukaryotes, play outsized roles in the food web as the dominant primary producers and the apex predators. Thus, the MDV lake ecosystem represents an ideal system to study the role of sentinel protist taxa in carbon and nutrient cycling. The perennially ice-covered lakes are part of the McMurdo Long Term Ecological Research (McM LTER; mcmlter.org) established in 1993. In this review we will highlight the diversity and trophic roles of the MDV lake protist community and compare environmental factors driving spatiotemporal patterns in key protist taxa in two lakes within the McM LTER, Lakes Bonney and Fryxell. We will then discuss lessons learned from manipulated experiments on the impact of current and future climate-driven environmental change on sensitive protist taxa. Last, we will integrate knowledge gained from 25 years of lab-controlled experiments on key photosynthetic protists to extend our understanding of the function of these extremophiles within the MDV aquatic food webs. Our research group has studied the distribution and function of the MDV microbial community for nearly two decades, training the next generation of scientists to tackle future problems of these globally significant microbes. This review article will also highlight early career scientists who have contributed to this body of work and represent the future of scientific understanding in the Anthropocene.

10aAntarctica10aDisturbance10aMcMurdo Dry Valley lakes10aphytoplankton10aprotist1 aMorgan-Kiss, Rachael, M.1 aPopson, Devon1 aPereira, Rochelle1 aDolhi-Binder, J1 aTeufel, Amber, G.1 aLi, Wei1 aKalra, Isha1 aSherwell, Shasten, S.1 aReynebeau, Emily1 aTakacs-Vesbach, Cristina, D. uhttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2024.132347202098nas a2200265 4500008004100000022001400041245010400055210006900159260001200228300001200240490000800252520131200260653001601572653001501588653001801603653002501621653002101646653001301667653002201680100001601702700001401718700001401732700002901746856005701775 2023 eng d a0166-859500aHigh salt-induced PSI-supercomplex is associated with high CEF and attenuation of state transitions0 aHigh saltinduced PSIsupercomplex is associated with high CEF and c09/2023 a65 - 840 v1573 a

While PSI-driven cyclic electron flow (CEF) and assembly of thylakoid supercomplexes have been described in model organisms like Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, open questions remain regarding their contributions to survival under long-term stress. The Antarctic halophyte, C. priscuii UWO241 (UWO241), possesses constitutive high CEF rates and a stable PSI-supercomplex as a consequence of adaptation to permanent low temperatures and high salinity. To understand whether CEF represents a broader acclimation strategy to short- and long-term stress, we compared high salt acclimation between the halotolerant UWO241, the salt-sensitive model, C. reinhardtii, and a moderately halotolerant Antarctic green alga, C. sp. ICE-MDV (ICE-MDV). CEF was activated under high salt and associated with increased non-photochemical quenching in all three Chlamydomonas species. Furthermore, high salt-acclimated cells of either strain formed a PSI-supercomplex, while state transition capacity was attenuated. How the CEF-associated PSI-supercomplex interferes with state transition response is not yet known. We present a model for interaction between PSI-supercomplex formation, state transitions, and the important role of CEF for survival during long-term exposure to high salt.

10aacclimation10aAntarctica10aChlamydomonas10aCyclic electron flow10aPSI-supercomplex10asalinity10astate transitions1 aKalra, Isha1 aWang, Xin1 aZhang, Ru1 aMorgan-Kiss, Rachael, M. uhttps://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11120-023-01032-y02454nas a2200277 4500008004100000245020000041210006900241260001200310300001400322490000800336520152000344653001501864653001401879653002501893653001801918653001701936653000801953100002401961700001601985700002102001700001902022700001802041700002302059700002902082856006502111 2022 eng d00aCyclic electron flow (CEF) and ascorbate pathway activity provide constitutive photoprotection for the photopsychrophile, Chlamydomonas sp. UWO 241 (renamed Chlamydomonas priscuii)0 aCyclic electron flow CEF and ascorbate pathway activity provide  c03/2022 a235 - 2500 v1513 a

Under environmental stress, plants and algae employ a variety of strategies to protect the photosynthetic apparatus and maintain photostasis. To date, most studies on stress acclimation have focused on model organisms which possess limited to no tolerance to stressful extremes. We studied the ability of the Antarctic alga Chlamydomonas sp. UWO 241 (UWO 241) to acclimate to low temperature, high salinity or high light. UWO 241 maintained robust growth and photosynthetic activity at levels of temperature (2 °C) and salinity (700 mM NaCl) which were nonpermissive for a mesophilic sister species, Chlamydomonas raudensis SAG 49.72 (SAG 49.72). Acclimation in the mesophile involved classic mechanisms, including downregulation of light harvesting and shifts in excitation energy between photosystem I and II. In contrast, UWO 241 exhibited high rates of PSI-driven cyclic electron flow (CEF) and a larger capacity for nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ). Furthermore, UWO 241 exhibited constitutively high activity of two key ascorbate cycle enzymes, ascorbate peroxidase and glutathione reductase and maintained a large ascorbate pool. These results matched the ability of the psychrophile to maintain low ROS under short-term photoinhibition conditions. We conclude that tight control over photostasis and ROS levels are essential for photosynthetic life to flourish in a native habitat of permanent photooxidative stress. We propose to rename this organism Chlamydomonas priscuii.

10aAntarctica10aascorbate10aCyclic electron flow10aPhotosystem I10aPsychrophile10aROS1 aStahl-Rommel, Sarah1 aKalra, Isha1 aD'Silva, Susanna1 aHahn, Mark, M.1 aPopson, Devon1 aCvetkovska, Marina1 aMorgan-Kiss, Rachael, M. uhttps://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11120-021-00877-502015nas a2200217 4500008004100000245016100041210006900202260001200271490000700283520122000290653001501510653001801525653002301543653003901566653001601605653003001621100002301651700002901674700002401703856007001727 2020 eng d00aGlycerol is an osmoprotectant in two Antarctic Chlamydomonas species from an ice-covered saline lake and is synthesized by an unusual bidomain enzyme0 aGlycerol is an osmoprotectant in two Antarctic IChlamydomonasI s c08/20200 v113 a

Glycerol, a compatible solute, has previously been found to act as an osmoprotectant in some marine Chlamydomonas species and several species of Dunaliella from hypersaline ponds. Recently, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Dunaliella salina were shown to make glycerol with an unusual bidomain enzyme, which appears to be unique to algae, that contains a phosphoserine phosphatase and glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. Here we report that two psychrophilic species of Chlamydomonas (C. spp. UWO241 and ICE-MDV) from Lake Bonney, Antarctica also produce high levels of glycerol to survive in the lake’s saline waters. Glycerol concentration increased linearly with salinity and at 1.3 M NaCl, exceeded 400 mM in C. sp. UWO241, the more salt-tolerant strain. We also show that both species expressed several isoforms of the bidomain enzyme. An analysis of one of the isoforms of C. sp. UWO241 showed that it was strongly upregulated by NaCl and is thus the likely source of glycerol. These results reveal another adaptation of the Lake Bonney Chlamydomonas species that allow them to survive in an extreme polar environment.

10aAntarctica10aChlamydomonas10aglycerol synthesis10aglycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase10aLake Bonney10aphosphoserine phosphatase1 aRaymond, James, A.1 aMorgan-Kiss, Rachael, M.1 aStahl-Rommel, Sarah uhttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2020.01259/full02684nas a2200265 4500008004100000022001400041245014900055210006900204260001200273490000600285520185300291653001502144653002502159653000902184653001802193653001702211100001502228700001802243700001602261700001202277700001402289700002102303700002902324856006502353 2019 eng d a0166-859500aThe Antarctic psychrophiles Chlamydomonas spp. UWO241 and ICE-MDV exhibit differential restructuring of photosystem I in response to iron0 aAntarctic psychrophiles iChlamydomonasi spp UWO241 and ICEMDV ex c02/20190 v93 a

Chlamydomonas sp. UWO241 is a psychrophilic alga isolated from the deep photic zone of a perennially ice-covered Antarctic lake (east lobe Lake Bonney, ELB). Past studies have shown that C. sp. UWO241 exhibits constitutive downregulation of photosystem I (PSI) and high rates of PSI-associated cyclic electron flow (CEF). Iron levels in ELB are in the nanomolar range leading us to hypothesize that the unusual PSI phenotype of C. sp. UWO241 could be a response to chronic Fe-deficiency. We studied the impact of Fe availability in C. sp. UWO241, a mesophile, C. reinhardtii SAG11-32c, as well as a psychrophile isolated from the shallow photic zone of ELB, Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-MDV. Under Fe-deficiency, PsaA abundance and levels of photooxidizable P700 (ΔA820/A820) were reduced in both psychrophiles relative to the mesophile. Upon increasing Fe, C. sp. ICE-MDV and C. reinhardtii exhibited restoration of PSI function, while C. sp. UWO241 exhibited only moderate changes in PSI activity and lacked almost all LHCI proteins. Relative to Fe-excess conditions (200 μM Fe2+), C. sp. UWO241 grown in 18 μM Fe2+ exhibited downregulation of light harvesting and photosystem core proteins, as well as upregulation of a bestrophin-like anion channel protein and two CEF-associated proteins (NdsS, PGL1). Key enzymes of starch synthesis and shikimate biosynthesis were also upregulated. We conclude that in response to variable Fe availability, the psychrophile C. sp. UWO241 exhibits physiological plasticity which includes restructuring of the photo-chemical apparatus, increased PSI-associated CEF, and shifts in downstream carbon metabolism toward storage carbon and secondary stress metabolites.

10aAntarctica10aCyclic electron flow10aIron10aPhotosystem I10aPsychrophile1 aCook, Greg1 aTeufel, Amber1 aKalra, Isha1 aLi, Wei1 aWang, Xin1 aPriscu, John, C.1 aMorgan-Kiss, Rachael, M. uhttps://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11120-019-00621-004197nas a2200253 4500008004100000245012900041210006900170260003900239490001000278520331600288653001503604653002503619653002903644653002903673653002103702653001903723653002403742653002303766653001703789653002303806100002203829700002903851856006303880 2016 eng d00aInfluence of abiotic drivers (light and nutrients) on photobiology and diversity of Antarctic lake phytoplankton communities0 aInfluence of abiotic drivers light and nutrients on photobiology aOxford, OHbMiami Universityc20160 vPh.D.3 a

Arctic, Antarctic, and alpine ecosystems are recognized as sensors and sentinels of global climate change. As a consequence of their high sensitivity to minor climatic perturbations, permanently ice-covered lakes located in the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MCM), Antarctica, represent end members in the global network of inland bodies of water. Episodic climatic events in the form of increased summer glacial melt result in inputs of organic sediment and nutrients from glacial streams to these closed basins. By better understanding how Antarctic lake communities respond to mimicked climate change, we can more accurately predict how they will react to further temperature changes in the future. We began by investigating the influence of inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus availability on planktonic communities residing in the oligotrophic upper waters of two chemically distinct MCM lakes (Lakes Bonney and Fryxell) which differ in their external inputs as well as water column N:P stoichiometry. Although microbial community responses varied between the lakes and were nutrient-dependent, stimulation of phytoplankton biomass and productivity across all treatments was strongly linked with increased abundance of a single phytoplankton phylum (Chlorophyta). Despite stimulation of phytoplankton growth, primary and bacterial productivity were largely uncoupled across all enrichments. We suggest that climate-associated shifts in phytoplankton diversity influence the bacterial community structure by altering the availability and composition of autochthonous carbon for heterotrophic production. To monitor the physiological adaptations that occur over time and depth, we then transplanted two dominant phytoplankton, Chlamydomonas sp. ICE- MDV and Isochrysis sp. MDV back into the Lake Bonney water column. Our results demonstrated that both organisms are specialists for surviving specific depths of the water column and are capable of acclimating to their native environment within a short period of time, and that the chlorophyte Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-MDV most likely makes this adjustment via photoacclimation and accumulating chlorophyll-a per cell. The final study presented here investigated whether or not the dominant chlorophyte, Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-MDV has retained the ability to respond to a diel 12-hour day/night cycle. Although light levels in MCM lakes remain low during the austral summers, daily irradiation varies by as much as tenfold during the course of the day, resulting in a circadian-like light cycle for organisms residing there. With decreased ice coverage on the lakes due to climate change and increased melt, it is likely that these light variations will become amplified over time. This study tested for the presence of a circadian rhythm under various light quality, light quantity, and temperature conditions and demonstrated that although a diel rhythm was maintained in terms of growth and several photochemical parameters, a true circadian rhythm was not identified. Although it is predicted that photosynthetic communities in polar regions will be more responsive to climate warming and episodic events, the complexity of these systems provides numerous challenges to understanding how these organism will adapt in the future.

10aAntarctica10abacterial production10aChlamydomonas sp ICE MDV10aChlorophyll fluorescence10acircadian rhythm10aclimate change10aMcMurdo Dry Valleys10anutrient amendment10aphotobiology10aPrimary production1 aTeufel, Amber, G.1 aMorgan-Kiss, Rachael, M. uhttp://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1468411564