Comparative analysis of bacterial taxonomic and functional diversity in terrestrial environments of Barton Peninsula in King George Island

Abstract

Recent applications of molecular methods to study of microbial ecology have allowed the extension of our knowledge that terrestrial environments in Antarctica contain unexpected high diversity of microorganisms. In the present study, we conducted a comparative analysis of bacterial communities in soil samples from Barton Peninsular in King George Island, the maritime Antarctic. Total 43 samples with different soil types near King Sejong Station were collected in December, 2010. On the basis of the 16S rRNA genes using pyrosequencing, 5,924 OTUs from total 85,078 bacterial sequences were detected using 97% similarity cutoff. Twenty known divisions and 20 unknown divisions were recognized, where the phyla of Proteobacteria (20.7%), Actinobacteria (18.6%) and AD3 (13.4%) were dominant. Interestingly, unexpected diverse phylotypes of AD3 with 99 OTUs were detected, which found only from environments. The bacterial taxonomic and functional diversity was deeply affected by various physicochemical conditions. These findings imply new perspectives of the relationship between microbial ecology and environmental characters in this unique ecosystem. conducted a comparative analysis of bacterial communities in soil samples from Barton Peninsular in King George Island, the maritime Antarctic. Total 43 samples with different soil types near King Sejong Station were collected in December, 2010. On the basis of the 16S rRNA genes using pyrosequencing, 5,924 OTUs from total 85,078 bacterial sequences were detected using 97% similarity cutoff. Twenty known divisions and 20 unknown divisions were recognized, where the phyla of Proteobacteria (20.7%), Actinobacteria (18.6%) and AD3 (13.4%) were dominant. Interestingly, unexpected diverse phylotypes of AD3 with 99 OTUs were detected, which found only from environments. The bacterial taxonomic and functional diversity was deeply affected by various physicochemical conditions. These findings imply new