02600nas a2200217 4500008004100000245010600041210006900147260001200216490000700228520191500235653001502150653001802165653001602183653002202199653001702221100002202238700001702260700002102277700001702298856006702315 2021 eng d00aAntarctic water tracks: Microbial community responses to variation in soil moisture, pH, and salinity0 aAntarctic water tracks Microbial community responses to variatio c01/20210 v123 a

Ice-free soils in the McMurdo Dry Valleys select for taxa able to cope with challenging environmental conditions, including extreme chemical water activity gradients, freeze-thaw cycling, desiccation, and solar radiation regimes. The low biotic complexity of Dry Valley soils makes them well suited to investigate environmental and spatial influences on bacterial community structure. Water tracks are annually wetted habitats in the cold-arid soils of Antarctica that form briefly each summer with moisture sourced from snow melt, ground ice thaw, and atmospheric deposition via deliquescence and vapor flow into brines. Compared to neighboring arid soils, water tracks are highly saline and relatively moist habitats. They represent a considerable area (∼5–10 km2) of the Dry Valley terrestrial ecosystem, an area that is expected to increase with ongoing climate change. The goal of this study was to determine how variation in the environmental conditions of water tracks influences the composition and diversity of microbial communities. We found significant differences in microbial community composition between on- and off-water track samples, and across two distinct locations. Of the tested environmental variables, soil salinity was the best predictor of community composition, with members of the Bacteroidetes phylum being relatively more abundant at higher salinities and the Actinobacteria phylum showing the opposite pattern. There was also a significant, inverse relationship between salinity and bacterial diversity. Our results suggest water track formation significantly alters dry soil microbial communities, likely influencing subsequent ecosystem functioning. We highlight how Dry Valley water tracks could be a useful model system for understanding the potential habitability of transiently wetted environments found on the surface of Mars.

10aAntarctica10aextremophiles10aMars analog10amicrobial ecology10awater tracks1 aGeorge, Scott, F.1 aFierer, Noah1 aLevy, Joseph, S.1 aAdams, Byron uhttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.61673000634nas a2200181 4500008004100000245007700041210006900118260001200187490000600199100002100205700002400226700002300250700002000273700001900293700002400312700002000336856009600356 2013 eng d00aAccelerated thermokarst formation in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica0 aAccelerated thermokarst formation in the McMurdo Dry Valleys Ant c07/20130 v31 aLevy, Joseph, S.1 aFountain, Andrew, G1 aDickson, James, L.1 aHead, James, W.1 aOkal, Marianne1 aMarchant, David, R.1 aWatters, Jaclyn uhttp://www.nature.com/srep/2013/130724/srep02269/full/srep02269.html?WT.ec_id=SREP-20130730