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/full02177nas 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

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.

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/art00002