Abundance and diversity of snow bacteria in two glaciers at the Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

Snow bacterial abundance and diversity at the Guoqu Glacier and the East Rongbuk Glacier located in the central and southern Tibetan Pateau were investigated using a 16S rRNA gene clone library and flow cytometry approach. Bacterial abundance was observed to show seasonal variation, with different patterns, at the two glaciers. High bacterial abundance occurs during the monsoon season at the East Rongbuk Glacier and during the non-monsoon season at the Guoqu Glacier. Seasonal variation in abundance is caused by the snow bacterial growth at the East Rongbuk Glacier, but by bacterial input from the dust at the Guoqu Glacier. Under the influence of various atmospheric circulations and temperature, bacterial diversity varies seasonally at different degrees. Seasonal variation in bacterial diversity is more distinct at the Guoqu Glacier than at the East Rongbuk Glacier. Bacterial diversity at the two glaciers exhibits different responses to various environmental conditions. More bacteria at the Guoqu Glacier are connected with those from a soil environment, while more bacteria affiliated with a marine environment occur at the East Rongbuk Glacier.

Keywords

bacteria / abundance / diversity / snow / glacier / Tibetan Peau

References

[1] Barnett T P, Dumenil L, Schlese U, Roeckner E, Latif M (1989). The effect of Eurasian snow cover on regional and global climate variations. J Atmos Sci, 46: 661-685

[2] Brosius J, Palmer M L, Kennedy J P, Noller F H (1978). Complete nucleotide sequence of a 16S ribosomal RNA gene from Escherichia coli. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 75: 4801-4805

[3] Buck C F, Mayewski P A, Spencer M J, Whitlow S, Twickler M S, Barrett D (1992). Determination of major ions in snow and ice cores by ion chromatography. J Chromatogr, 594: 225-228

[4] Christner B C (2002). Detection, recovery, isolation and characterization of bacteria in glacial ice and lake Vostok accretion ice [Dissertation]. Columbus: The Ohio State University

[5] Christner B C, Mosley-Thompson E, Thompson L G, Reeve J N (2003). Bacterial recovery from ancient glacial ice. Environmental Microbiology, 5: 433-436

[6] Christner B C, Mosley-Thompson E, Thompson L G, Zagorodnov V, Sandman K, Reeve J N (2000). Recovery and identification of viable bacteria immured in glacial ice. Icarus, 144: 479-485

[7] Cole J R, Chai B, Farris R J, Wang Q, Kulam S A, McGarrell D M, Garrity G M, Tiedje J M (2005). The ribosomal database project (RDP-II): Sequences and tools for high-throughput rRNA analysis. Nucl Acids Res, 33: D294-296

[8] Duan K Q, Yao T D, Thompson L G (2006). Response of monsoon precipitation in the Himalayas to global warming. Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, 111

[9] Finneran K T, Johnsen C V, Lovley D R (2003). Rhodoferax ferrireducens sp. nov., a psychrotolerant, facultatively anaerobic bacterium that oxidizes acetate with the reduction of Fe(III). Int J Syst Evol Microbiol, 53: 669-673

[10] Jiao N Z, Yang Y H, Hong N, Ma Y, Harada S, Koshikawa H, Watanabe M (2005). Dynamics of autotrophic picoplankton and heterotrophic bacteria in the East China Sea. Continental Shelf Research, 25: 1265-1279

[11] Kang S C, Qin D H, Mayewski P A, Sneed S B (2002). Chemical composition of fresh snow on Xixiabangma peak, central Himalaya, during the summer monsoon season. Journal of Glaciology, 48: 337-339

[12] Kang S C, Mayewski P A, Qin D H, Sneed S A, Ren J W, Zhang D Q (2004). Seasonal differences in snow chemistry from the vicinity of Mt. Everest, central Himalayas. Atmos Environ, 38: 2819-2829

[13] Kang S C, Zhang Q G, Kaspari S, Qin D H, Cong Z Y, Ren J W, Mayewski P A (2007a). Spatial and seasonal variations of elemental composition in Mt. Everest (Qomolangma) snow/firn. Atmos Environ, 41: 7208-7218

[14] Kang S C, Zhang Y J, Qin D H, Ren J W, Zhang Q G, Grigholm B, Mayewski P A (2007b). Recent temperature increase recorded in an ice core in the source region of Yangtze River. Chin Sci Bull, 52: 825-831

[15] Kemp P F, Aller J Y (2004). Bacterial diversity in aquatic and other environments: What 16S rDNA libraries can tell us. Fems Microb Ecol, 47: 161-177

[16] Kim B C, Park J R, Bae J W, Rhee S K, Kim K H, Oh J W, Park Y H (2006). Stappia marina sp. nov., a marine bacterium isolated from the Yellow Sea. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol, 56: 75-79

[17] Kumar S, Tamura K, Nei M (2004). <patent>MEGA3</patent>: Integrated software for molecular evolutionary genetics analysis and sequence alignment. Briefings in Bioinformatics, 5: 150-163

[18] Liu Y Q, Yao T D, Kang S C, Jiao N Z, Zeng Y H, Shi Y, Luo T W, Jing Z F, Huang S J (2006). Seasonal variation of snow microbial community structure in the East Rongbuk glacier, Mt. Everest. Chin Sci Bull, 51: 1476-1486

[19] Liu Y Q, Yao T D, Kang S C, Jiao N Z, Zeng Y H, Shi Y, Luo T W, Jing Z F, Huang S J (2007). Microbial community structure in major habits above 6000 m on Mount Everest. Chin Sci Bull, 52: 2350-2357

[20] Maidak B L, Cole J R, Lilburn T G, Parker C T, Jr., Saxman P R, Farris R J, Garrity G M, Olsen G J, Schmidt T M, Tiedje J M (2001). The RDP-II (ribosomal database project). Nucl. Acids Res, 29: 173-174

[21] Marie D, Partensky F, Jacquet S, Vaulot D (1997). Enumeration and cell cycle analysis of natural populations of marine picoplankton by flow cytometry using the nucleic acid stain SYBR Green I. Appl Environ Microbiol, 63: 186-193

[22] Miteva V (2007). Bacteria in snow and glacier ice. In: Margesin R, Schinner F M J C, Gerday C, eds. Psychrophiles: From Biodiversity to Biotechnology. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer, 31-50

[23] Miteva V I, Sheridan P P, Brenchley J E (2004). Phylogenetic and physiological diversity of microorganisms isolated from a deep Greenland glacier ice core. Appl Environ Microbiol, 70: 202-213

[24] Moran M A, Gonzalez J M, Kiene R P (2003). Linking a bacterial taxon to sulfur cycling in the sea: Studies of the marine Roseobacter Group. Geomicrobiology Journal, 20: 375-388

[25] Schloss P D, Handelsman J (2005). Introducing DOTUR, a computer program for defining operational taxonomic units and Estimating Species Richness. Appl Environ Microbiol, 71: 1501-1506

[26] Segawa T, Miyamoto K, Ushida K, Agata K, Okada N, Kohshima S (2005). Seasonal change in bacterial flora and biomass in mountain snow from the Tateyama Mountains, Japan, analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and real-time PCR. Appl Environ Microbiol, 71: 123-130

[27] Shi Y (2000). Glacier and Their Environment in China. Beijing: Science Press (in Chinese)

[28] Thompson L G, Yao T D, Mosley-Thompson E, Davis M E, Henderson K A, Lin P N (2000). A high-resolution millennial record of the South Asian monsoon from Himalayan ice cores. Science, 289: 1916-1919

[29] Tian L, Masson-Delmotte V, Stievenard M, Yao T D, Jouzel J (2001a). Tibetan Plateau summer monsoon northward extent revealed by measurements of water stable isotopes. Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, 106: 28081-28088

[31] Tian L, Yao T D, Schuster P F, White J W C, Ichiyanagi K, Pendall E, Pu J, Wu Y (2003). Oxygen-18 concentrations in recent precipitation and ice cores on the Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, 108

[30] Tian L, Yao T D, Sun W Z, Stievenard M, Jouzel J (2001b). Relationship between delta D and delta O-18 in precipitation on north and south of the Tibetan Plateau and moisture recycling. Science in China (Series D), 44: 789-796

[32] Tian L D, Yao T D, White J W C, Yu W S, Wang N L (2005). Westerly moisture transport to the middle of Himalayas revealed from the high deuterium excess. Chin Sci Bull, 50: 1026-1030

[33] Tian L D, Yao T D, Li Z, MacClune K, Wu G J, Xu B Q, Li Y F, Lu A X, Shen Y P (2006). Recent rapid warming trend revealed from the isotopic record in Muztagata ice core, eastern Pamirs. Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, 111

[34] Xiang S R, Yao T D, An L Z, Li Z, Wu G J, Wang Y Q, Xu B Q, Wang J X (2004). Change of bacterial community in the Malan ice core and its relation to climate and environment. Chin Sci Bull, 49: 1869-1875

[35] Xiang S R, Yao T D, An L Z, Wu G J, Xu B Q, Ma X J, Li Z, Wang J X, Yu W S (2005). Vertical quantitative and dominant population distribution of the bacteria isolated from the Muztagata ice core. Science in China (Series D), 48: 1728-1739

[36] Xiao C, Kang S C, Qin D, Yao T D, Ren J W (2002a). Transport of atmospheric impurities over the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibetan) plateau as shown by snow chemistry. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 20: 231-239

[37] Xiao C D, Qin D H, Ren J W, Li Z Q, Wang X X. (2002b). Glaciochemistry distribution in the surface snow/ice in some key regions of the cryosphere: The environmental significance. Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology, 24: 492-499

[38] Xie A H, Dahe Q, Ren J W, Xiang Q, Xiao C D, Hou S G, Kang S C, Yang X G, Jiang Y Y (2007). Meteorological observations on Mount Everest in 2005. Progress in Natural Science, 17: 828-837

[39] Xie S C, Yao T D, Kang S C, Xu B Q, Duan K Q, Thompson L G (2000). Geochemical analyses of a Himalayan snowpit profile: Implications for atmospheric pollution and climate. Org Geochem, 31: 15-23

[40] Xiong K J, Tang X, Xie S C (1999). Yeast isolated from snow at Tibet. J Microbio, 19: 58-62 (in Chinese with English abstract)

[41] Xu B Q, Yao T D, Liu X Q, Wang N L (2006). Elemental and organic carbon measurements with a two-step heating-gas chromatography system in snow samples from the Tibetan Plateau. Annals of Glaciology, 43: 257-262

[42] Yao T D, Wu G J, Pu J C, Jiao K Q, Huang C L (2004). Relationship between calcium and atmospheric dust recorded in Guliya ice core. Chin Sci Bull, 49: 706-710

[43] Yao T D, Xiang S R, Zhang X J, Wang N L, Wang Y Q (2006). Microorganisms in the Malan ice core and their relation to climatic and environmental changes. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, <patent>20: GB1004, doi:1010.1029/2004GB002424</patent>

[44] Zhang G S, Niu F J, Ma X J, Liu W, Dong M X, Feng H Y, An L Z, Cheng G D (2007). Phylogenetic diversity of bacteria isolates from the Qinghai-Tibet plateau permafrost region. Can J Microbiol, 53: 1000-1010

[45] Zhang Q, Kang S, Cong Z, Hou S, Liu Y (2008). Elemental composition in surface snow from the ultra-high elevation area of Mt. Qomolangma (Everest). Chin Sci Bull, 53: 289-294

[46] Zhang X F, Yao T D, An L Z, Tian L D XuS J(2006). A study on the vertical profile of bacterial DNA structure in the Puruogangri (Tibetan Plateau) ice core using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. Annals of Glaciology, 43: 160-166

[47] Zhang X J, Yao T D, Ma X J, Wang N L (2001). Analysis of the characteristics of microorganisms packed in the ice core of Malan glacier, Tibet, China. Science in China (Series D), 44: 369-374

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2005CB422004) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.40121101).

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2014 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg