Paper
7 September 2010 Comparison of the microbial diversity and abundance between the freshwater land-locked lakes of Schirmacher Oasis, and the perennially ice-covered Lake Untersee in East Antarctica
Jonathan P. Huang, Richard B. Hoover, Ashit Swain, Chris Murdock, Dale T. Andersen, Asim K. Bej
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Abstract
Extreme conditions such as low temperature, dryness, and constant UV-radiation in terrestrial Antarctica are limiting factors to the survival of microbial populations. The objective of this study was to investigate the microbial diversity and enumeration between the open water lakes of Schirmacher Oasis and the permanently ice-covered Lake Untersee. The lakes in Schirmacher Oasis possessed an abundant and diverse group of microorganisms compared to Lake Untersee. Furthermore, the microbial diversity between two lakes in Schirmacher Oasis (Lake L27C and L47) was compared by culture-based molecular approach. It was determined that L27C had a richer microbial diversity representing 4 different phyla and 7 different genera. In contrast L47 consisted of 3 different phyla and 6 different genera. The difference in microbial community could be due to the wide range of pH between L27C (pH 9.1) and L47 (pH 5.7). Most of the microbes isolated from these lakes consisted of adaptive biological pigmentation. Characterization of the microbial community found in the freshwater lakes of East Antarctica is important because it gives a further glimpse into the adaptation and survival strategies found in extreme conditions.
© (2010) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Jonathan P. Huang, Richard B. Hoover, Ashit Swain, Chris Murdock, Dale T. Andersen, and Asim K. Bej "Comparison of the microbial diversity and abundance between the freshwater land-locked lakes of Schirmacher Oasis, and the perennially ice-covered Lake Untersee in East Antarctica", Proc. SPIE 7819, Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology XIII, 78190W (7 September 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.863131
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Cited by 4 scholarly publications.
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KEYWORDS
Microorganisms

Water

Bacteria

Analytical research

Astrobiology

Ecosystems

In situ metrology

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