Bacterial diversity in the snow over Tibetan Plateau Glaciers

Bacterial diversity and cell abundance in the snow of the four glaciers (Guoqu, Zadang, East Rongbuk and Palong No. 4) located in different climatic zones of the Tibetan Plateau were investigated through culture-independent molecular analysis of 16S rRNA gene clone library and flow cytometry approaches. Cell abundance ranged from 0.68 × 10³ to 720 × 10³ cells mL⁻¹, with higher values in the northern glaciers than in the southern ones. Bacterial diversity was unexpectedly high in the snow habitats of the world’s highest plateau, with 15 common genera distributed widely among the glaciers. The bacterial diversity in the snow at different glaciers was related to the surrounding environments. The Guoqu Glacier, to the north near the desert zone and with the lowest temperature, preserved more bacteria closely related to a cold environment and soil than the other glaciers. However, in the Palong No. 4 Glacier located in the south warm region around vegetation, most bacteria were phylogenetically related to plant-associated bacteria.     

Microbial diversity in the snow,a moraine lake and a stream in Himalayan glacier

The microbial diversity and abundance in surface snow at different altitudes (5300 and 5504 m above sea level), a moraine lake and a glacial stream in the Yala Glacier on the southern slope of the Himalayas were investigated through a 16S rRNA gene clone library and flow cytometry approaches. Cell abundance in different habitats changed from 1.1 × 10⁴ to 25 × 10⁴ cells mL⁻¹, with the highest abundance in the moraine lake and the lowest abundance in the snow at 5504 m. Microbial communities in the snow were significantly different from those in the moraine lake and stream, although they were similar within snow and within the aquatic habitats. The two snow libraries were both dominated by Cyanobacteria, which accounted for about half of the total, followed by the Alphaproteobacteria and Firmicutes. The moraine lake and stream libraries were dominated by the Bacteroidetes and Betaproteobacteria, followed by the Actinobacteria. The results indicated that snow and water were highly diverse systems even in the same glacier. Microbial communities in the snow on the Yala Glacier were distinctly different from those in the East Rongbuk Glacier on the northern slope of Himalayas. However, microbes in the moraine lakes at two glaciers had similar community features. The snow habitat was easily affected by various environmental factors, while the aquatic habitats were comparatively stable in different glaciers.     

冰川微生物菌群分布的研究概况及其前景

冰川中以耐冷的生物为主,形成一个以微生物为主要生命形式的相对简单的生态系统.冰川中的微生物包括病毒、细菌、放线菌、丝状真菌、酵母菌和藻类.其中一些病毒对人类健康具有潜在的危害性.着重论述了不同区域和不同海拔高度的冰川微生物类群和数量分布特征以及冰芯（深冰川）细菌菌群分布与气候环境的关系.综述结果表明：一些微生物类群广泛存在于各地的冰川上,具有全球分布特性;另一些类群只出现在个别冰川上,为一些地方性冰川微生物.随着海拔高度的增加,冰川上呈现出冰、雪冰和雪环境明显不同的生态条件;微生物类群分布也具有明显的差异性,与冰川上的生态条件和盛行的风向有关.优势类群对冰、雪冰和雪环境具有一定的指示意义.冰川微生物数量分布不仅受到冰川上的水热、光照和营养状况的影响,还与降雪的沉积作用有关.冰芯中的细菌数量与矿物微粒含量具有密切的对应关系.最后指出了冰川微生物研究在基因多样性、气候环境变化、生物地球化学循环、微生物对环境变化的响应机制和星际生命探索中的重要性及其生态学和社会经济意义.     

Disappearing Kilimanjaro snow—Are we the last generation to explore equatorial glacier biodiversity?

Glaciation accompanied our human ancestors in Africa throughout the Pleistocene. Regrettably, equatorial glaciers and snow are disappearing rapidly, and we are likely the last generation who will get to know these peculiar places. Despite the permanently harsh conditions of glacier/snow habitats, they support a remarkable diversity of life ranging from bacteria to animals. Numerous papers have been devoted to microbial communities and unique animals on polar glaciers and high mountains, but only two reports relate to glacial biodiversity in equatorial regions, which are destined to melt completely within the next few decades. Equatorial glaciers constitute “cold islands” in tropics, and discovering their diversity might shed light on the biogeography, dispersal, and history of psychrophiles. Thus, an opportunity to protect biota of equatorial glaciers hinges on ex situ conservation. It is timely and crucial that we should investigate the glacial biodiversity of the few remaining equatorial glaciers.     

东天山地区庙儿沟雪坑中微生物多样性、群落结构与环境关系研究

通过荧光计数、恢复培养和变形梯度凝胶电泳(DGGE),分析了东天山地区庙儿沟不同深度积雪中的可培养细菌数量、多样性及其群落结构。结果表明,东天山地区冰雪微生物数量和多样性指数与气候环境替代指标钙离子、镁离子、氯离子等具有相关性。该地区雪坑中细菌隶属于4个不同系统发育群:proteobacteria(α-,β-,γ-),CFB,HGC和LGC,其中CFB类和proteobacteria类为主要类群。与青藏高原、南北极冰雪中微生物的比较分析发现Paracoccu和Aquasalina属是该地区的特殊微生物类群。直接培养和DGGE分析发现不同深度雪坑中微生物数量和群落结构都有明显的变化。结果表明,由于东天山地区的特殊地理位置,该地区冰雪微生物具有其特殊性。     

Patterns and Potential Drivers of Dramatic Changes in Tibetan Lakes, 1972–2010

Most glaciers in the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau are retreating, and glacier melt has been emphasized as the dominant driver for recent lake expansions on the Tibetan Plateau. By investigating detailed changes in lake extents and levels across the Tibetan Plateau from Landsat/ICESat data, we found a pattern of dramatic lake changes from 1970 to 2010 (especially after 2000) with a southwest-northeast transition from shrinking, to stable, to rapidly expanding. This pattern is in distinct contrast to the spatial characteristics of glacier retreat, suggesting limited influence of glacier melt on lake dynamics. The plateau-wide pattern of lake change is related to precipitation variation and consistent with the pattern of permafrost degradation induced by rising temperature. More than 79% of lakes we observed on the central-northern plateau (with continuous permafrost) are rapidly expanding, even without glacial contributions, while lakes fed by retreating glaciers in southern regions (with isolated permafrost) are relatively stable or shrinking. Our study shows the limited role of glacier melt and highlights the potentially important contribution of permafrost degradation in predicting future water availability in this region, where understanding these processes is of critical importance to drinking water, agriculture, and hydropower supply of densely populated areas in South and East Asia.     

A mitochondrial revelation of early human migrations to the Tibetan Plateau before and after the last glacial maximum

As the highest plateau surrounded by towering mountain ranges, the Tibetan Plateau was once considered to be one of the last populated areas of modern humans. However, this view has been tremendously changed by archeological, linguistic, and genetic findings in the past 60 years. Nevertheless, the timing and routes of entry of modern humans into the Tibetan Plateau is still unclear. To make these problems clear, we carried out high‐resolution mitochondrial‐DNA (mtDNA) analyses on 562 Tibeto‐Burman inhabitants from nine different regions across the plateau. By examining the mtDNA haplogroup distributions and their principal components, we demonstrated that maternal diversity on the plateau reflects mostly a northern East Asian ancestry. Furthermore, phylogeographic analysis of plateau‐specific sublineages based on 31 complete mtDNA sequences revealed two primary components: pre‐last glacial maximum (LGM) inhabitants and post‐LGM immigrants. Also, the analysis of one major pre‐LGM sublineage A10 showed a strong signal of post‐LGM population expansion (about 15,000 years ago) and greater diversity in the southern part of the Tibetan Plateau, indicating the southern plateau as a refuge place when climate dramatically changed during LGM. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

New subgroup of Bacteroidetes and diverse microorganisms in Tibetan plateau glacial ice provide a biological record of environmental conditions

We recovered microorganisms from five ice core samples from three glaciers (Puruogangri, Malan, and Dunde) located in the Tibetan Plateau in China and analyzed their small subunit rRNA gene sequences. Most of the bacterial sequences were unknown previously; the most closely related known sequences were from bacteria of the Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes , and Actinobacteria phyla. Chlorophyta, Streptophyta, Ciliophora , and fungal groups were represented among the 18S rRNA gene sequences that we obtained. The most abundantly represented glacial bacteria were Bacteroidetes , and Chlamydomonas was the predominant eukaryote. Comparative analysis showed that the Bacteroidetes sequences obtained from this study were highly similar to one another but most were only distantly related to previously characterized Bacteroidetes (<92% identity). We propose that our Bacteroidetes sequences represent two novel subgroups: one at the family level and one at the genus level. The unique ice environment and the high abundance of Bacteroidetes , combined with the coexistence of a high abundance of psychrophilic Chlamydomonas , strongly suggests that there is a viable ecosystem on the surface of Tibetan glaciers. Comparisons of microbial community structures in the five ice samples showed distinct differences, likely due to environmental differences in the locations in which the samples were obtained.     

The distribution and drivers of microbial pigments in the cryoconite of four Tibetan glaciers

Microbial pigments play a significant role in glacier albedo reduction, thereby contributing to accelerated glacier retreat. The Tibetan Plateau has experienced rapid glacier retreat in recent decades due to global warming, yet there is limited understanding of microbial pigment distribution in the region. Here, we investigated the pigment concentration and composition in cryoconite from four glaciers. Our results showed that chlorophylls were the dominant pigments in Palong No. 4 (PL) and Jiemayangzong (JMYZ) glaciers located in the south of the Tibetan Plateau, while carotenoids were dominant in Qiangyong (QY) and Tanggula (TGL) glaciers located in the central region. Additionally, the chlorophyll b to chlorophyll a ratio, which is an indicator of the algae-to-cyanobacteria ratio, was higher in PL and JMYZ compared to QY and TGL. By using Random Forest Regression and Structural Equation Modelling, we determined that the concentrations of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and carotenoids were associated with autotrophic bacteria relative abundance, climatic factors, and a combination of bacterial and climatic factors, respectively. This study is the first to describe the distribution of microbial pigments in cryoconite from Tibetan glaciers, providing additional support on the influence of algal pigment on glacier retreat.     

Preliminary Study on Effects of Glacial Retreat on the Dominant Glacial Snow Bacteria in Laohugou Glacier No. 12

One impact of climate change is the rapid shrinking of glaciers, resulting in microorganisms deposited into glacial snow or ice being exposed to new environments such as glacier foreland. A pyrosequencing analysis based on the bacterial 16S rRNA gene showed that bacterial diversity was the highest in proglacial soil, followed by that of glacial snow in ablation zone, then by that of glacial snow in the accumulation area, finally by that of glacial snow in glacier terminus, with the combination of Chao1, ACE, Shannon and Simpson analysis. Eighteen phyla were detected from the 7 samples, but mainly composed of Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes. Flavobacterium, Massilia, Pedobacter, Polaromonas were more abundant in glacial snow samples than in glacial soil sample. Massilia was rarely reported in other environments, implying the necessity for its conservation under scenarios of glacier and snowpack loss induced by climate change.     

Fate of glacier surface snow-originating bacteria in the glacier-fed hydrologic continuums

Glaciers represent important biomes of Earth and are recognized as key species pools for downstream aquatic environments. Worldwide, rapidly receding glaciers are driving shifts in hydrology, species distributions and threatening microbial diversity in glacier-fed aquatic ecosystems. However, the impact of glacier surface snow-originating taxa on the microbial diversity in downstream aquatic environments has been little explored. To elucidate the contribution of glacier surface snow-originating taxa to bacterial diversity in downstream aquatic environments, we collected samples from glacier surface snows, downstream streams and lakes along three glacier-fed hydrologic continuums on the Tibetan Plateau. Our results showed that glacier stream acts as recipients and vectors of bacteria originating from the glacier environments. The contributions of glacier surface snow-originating taxa to downstream bacterial communities decrease from the streams to lakes, which was consistently observed in three geographically separated glacier-fed ecosystems. Our results also revealed that some rare snow-originating bacteria can thrive along the hydrologic continuums and become dominant in downstream habitats. Finally, our results indicated that the dispersal patterns of bacterial communities are largely determined by mass effects and increasingly subjected to local sorting of species along the glacier-fed hydrologic continuums. Collectively, this study provides insights into the fate of bacterial assemblages in glacier surface snow following snow melt and how bacterial communities in aquatic environments are affected by the influx of glacier snow-originating bacteria.     

Diversity of Snow Bacteria from the Zangser Kangri Glacier in the Tibetan Plateau Environment

Bacterial abundance and community diversity were investigated in a snow pit on the Zangser Kangri (ZSGR) glacier on the Tibetan Plateau by epifluorescence microscopy and small subunit 16 S rRNA gene sequence analyses. Cell abundance and bacterial colony-forming units (CFUs) ranged from 3 × 10³ to 1.5 × 10⁴ cells/ml and 0 to 2.2 CFU/ml, respectively. All isolates were classified into four major groups: Actinobacteria (68%), Alphaproteobacteria (18%), Gammaproteobacteria (9%) and Firmicutes (5%). Principal component analysis of the biochemical data combined with linear correlation analysis revealed two main sources of bacteria on the ZSGR glacier. Considerable amounts of bacteria were probably emitted by vegetation of Qangtang Grassland and transported by the Indian monsoon, some of which might have originated from the Taklimakan Desert and undergone long-range transportation by westerly winds. Bacterial abundance was positively correlated with both Ca²⁺ and HCOO^? concentrations, suggesting two microbial transport carriers, including mineral and organic particles. Members of Caulobacter and Roseomonas that participate in nitrogen transformations were observed in the uppermost snow pit layer, suggesting that they are involved in nitrogen cycling on this glacial surface.     

Fukushima Nuclear Accident Recorded in Tibetan Plateau Snow Pits

The β radioactivity of snow-pit samples collected in the spring of 2011 on four Tibetan Plateau glaciers demonstrate a remarkable peak in each snow pit profile, with peaks about ten to tens of times higher than background levels. The timing of these peaks suggests that the high radioactivity resulted from the Fukushima nuclear accident that occurred on March 11, 2011 in eastern Japan. Fallout monitoring studies demonstrate that this radioactive material was transported by the westerlies across the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. The depth of the peak β radioactivity in each snow pit compared with observational precipitation records, suggests that the radioactive fallout reached the Tibetan Plateau and was deposited on glacier surfaces in late March 2011, or approximately 20 days after the nuclear accident. The radioactive fallout existed in the atmosphere over the Tibetan Plateau for about one month.     

Culture Independent Diversity of Bacterial Communities Indigenous to Lower Altitude at Laohugou Glacial Environment

Abstract

High-throughput sequencing approach of the 16S rRNA gene was employed to evaluate the bacterial diversity inhabit in melted water, snow, soil, and rocks samples at the lower altitudes of the Laohugou glacial environment. Bioinformatics tools were used to process millions of Illumina reads for alpha and beta diversities of bacterial communities. The diversity indices such as Chao, Shannon, and Simpson were different in the collected samples and solid samples (soil and rocks) showed higher taxon richness and evenness. Taxonomic diversity was unexpectedly higher and the major portion of sequences was assigned to Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Acidobacteria. Higher variation in community structure was reported at the class level and Alphaproteobacteria was dominant. The solid niches were occupied by a higher number of phyla compared with liquid. The physicochemical variables acted as spatial gradients and associated with the bacterial structural communities of the glacial ecosystem. Findings showed that both Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria in solid samples influenced the bacterial community structure in downstream liquid samples. Interestingly, the metagenomic biomarkers were higher in liquid samples. This study provides precious datasets to understand the bacterial community in a better way under the influence of spatial, physical and environmental factors.     

崇测冰帽不同的冰川样品可培养细菌群落结构差异北大核心CSCD

【目的】研究细菌群落组成在西昆仑崇测冰帽冰川雪样、冰碛物和土样中的差异。【方法】通过传统的纯培养和菌株16S r RNA基因序列鉴定,分析菌株在门水平和属水平的群落结构。【结果】冰川细菌由Actinobacteria、Firmicutes、Proteobacteria和Bacteroidetes 4个门组成。雪样以Proteobacteria为优势,而土样和冰碛物则以Actinobacteria为优势。在属的水平上,冰川土样中的优势属仅有Arthrobacter,雪样中的优势属主要有Methylobacterium、Modestobacter、Hymenobacter、Brevundimonas、Bacillus这5种。雪环境的细菌群落结构与冰碛物和土样的差异性较大,而冰碛物和土样之间的差异性不大。Skermanella可能为崇测冰帽所特有的细菌。【结论】初步说明了在冰川退缩的气候环境下,冰川雪样细菌多样性的脆弱性,以及冰川雪环境细菌资源保护的重要性。     

青藏高原东缘海螺沟冰川退缩区植被原生演替的氮磷动态

在青藏高原东缘海螺沟冰川退缩区植被原生演替序列的典型地段依次设置7个采样点(冰川退缩0、10、30、40、50、80和127年),测定各演替阶段表层土壤与植被各层氮(N)、磷(P)含量及生态系统生物量,分析不同演替阶段N、P养分的积累与循环特征.结果表明:乔木层叶、枝、根的N、P含量随演替下降,而干的N、P含量在演替末...     

DNA barcoding and morphology reveal exceptional species diversity of Scoparia (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) from the Hailuogou Glacier area,China

The genus Scoparia from the Hailuogou Glacier area in the south‐eastern fringe of the Tibetan Plateau of south‐western China is studied, nine species are revealed by combining DNA barcoding (658 bp of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, COI) and morphology. Studies show that Scoparia species from the Hailuogou Glacier area are 37.5% as many as all the previously known congeners in China. Six species are described as new to science: S coparia simplicissima Li sp. nov. , S coparia tribulosa Li sp. nov. , S coparia longispina Li sp. nov. , S coparia gibbosa Li sp. nov. , S coparia globosa Li sp. nov. , and S coparia annulata Li sp. nov. The female of Scoparia metaleucalis is described for the first time herein. All species are either diagnosed or described and illustrated, and a map of China showing the topography and localities where Scoparia species are recorded is also provided, including the species number of all the recorded localities. The results reveal the exceptional species diversity of Scoparia from the Hailuogou Glacier area, as well as demonstrate that the integration of DNA barcoding and morphological approaches is highly effective for indentifying scopariine moths in the Hailougou glacier area. All the studied specimens are deposited in the Insect Museum, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London     

Prokaryotic diversity in sediments beneath two polar glaciers with contrasting organic carbon substrates

Microbial ecosystems beneath glaciers and ice sheets are thought to play an active role in regional and global carbon cycling. Subglacial sediments are assumed to be largely anoxic, and thus various pathways of organic carbon metabolism may occur here. We examine the abundance and diversity of prokaryotes in sediment beneath two glaciers (Lower Wright Glacier in Antarctica and Russell Glacier in Greenland) with different glaciation histories and thus with different organic carbon substrates. The total microbial abundance in the Lower Wright Glacier sediment, originating from young lacustrine sediment, was an order of magnitude higher (~8 × 10⁶ cells per gram of wet sediment) than in Russell Glacier sediment (~9 × 10⁵ cells g⁻¹) that is of Holocene-aged soil origin. 4% of the microbes from the Russell Glacier sediment and 0.04–0.35% from Lower Wright Glacier were culturable at 10°C. The Lower Wright Glacier subglacial community was dominated by Proteobacteria, followed by Firmicutes. The Russell Glacier library was much less diverse and also dominated by Proteobacteria. Low numbers and diversity of both Euryarchaeota and Crenarchaeota were found in both sediments. The identified clones were related to bacteria with both aerobic and anaerobic metabolisms, indicating the presence of both oxic and anoxic conditions in the sediments.     

基于Sentinel-1时序数据的山地冰川表面消融变化研究——以老虎沟12号冰川为例

冰川是影响气候变化的主要因素,合成孔径雷达(SAR)不仅具有较高空间分辨率和多极化等特点,而且对冰雪融化引起的介电常数变化较为敏感,已成为山地冰川表面消融变化监测的重要数据源。基于Sentinel-1时序数据,提出了一种综合应用多时相多极化SAR变化检测算法和Sigmoid函数的冰川表面消融监测方法。以祁连山老虎沟12号冰川为研究区,利用“中心线—圆”方法获得的冰川东、西支64个样区,通过各点2019—2020年124个时相的SAR后向散射系数变化特征确定了7个典型样区及2019和2020年冰川消融期;基于同轨道参考影像与多时相融雪影像对比,分别获得变化监测影像VV和VH极化后向散射系数,对其进行权重组合后提取湿雪像元;通过Sigmoid函数并结合湿雪平均海拔高度提取干雪,从而得到2年冰川消融期内16个时相的冰川表面干湿雪分布。利用2019年09月01日无人机数字正射影像(DOM)以及与Sentinel-1邻近日期5景Sentinel-2影像对提取结果进行精度验证,并结合冰川上气象站点气温和降水数据对误差结果进行深入分析。实验结果表明,该方法能够有效提取冰川表面干、湿雪分布,总体分类精...