Article
Biology
William S. Y. Wong, Lukas Hauer, Paul A. Cziko, Konrad Meister
Summary: The research finds that the Antarctic scallop Adamussium colbecki possesses a unique micro-ridge structure that allows it to control underwater ice formation, preventing dangerous accumulation and firm attachment of ice. This special structure helps protect the scallops from anchor ice and may be a key trait for their survival in anchor ice zones.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Lilian-Maite Lezama Valdes, Marwan Katurji, Hanna Meyer
Summary: Land Surface Temperature (LST) plays a crucial role in monitoring environmental and biological processes, especially in the Antarctic Dry Valleys. Researchers successfully enhanced the spatial resolution of MODIS satellite LST product to 30 meters using machine learning models trained with Landsat 8 thermal infrared data, providing valuable data for various research applications.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Bernard Yang, Mathew G. Wells, Bailey C. McMeans, Hilary A. Dugan, James A. Rusak, Gesa A. Weyhenmeyer, Jennifer A. Brentrup, Allison R. Hrycik, Alo Laas, Rachel M. Pilla, Jay A. Austin, Paul J. Blanchfield, Cayelan C. Carey, Matthew M. Guzzo, Noah R. Lottig, Murray D. MacKay, Trevor A. Middel, Don C. Pierson, Junbo Wang, Joelle D. Young
Summary: Traditionally, lakes are classified based on their thermal regime and trophic status, but this classification method is not sufficient to understand seasonally ice-covered lakes. Research has found that differently sized and deep seasonally ice-covered lakes exhibit different thermal stratification characteristics, leading to the proposal of new classification terms.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
J. Olsthoorn, E. W. Tedford, G. A. Lawrence
Summary: This study visualizes the salt finger formation under ice in lakes through laboratory experiments, showing that while these fingers can be detected in camera recordings, they are nearly absent in temperature records. The research quantifies the velocity of salt-plumes, measures the increase in bottom salinity, and suggests that salinity is often distributed evenly with depth. By comparing salt fluxes, it is concluded that favorable conditions for salt fingering exist in most seasonally ice-covered lakes.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Biology
Abigail C. Jackson, Jesse Jorna, John M. Chaston, Byron J. Adams
Summary: This study investigated microbial communities in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica using genome sequencing and found unique microbial communities in potential refugia. The presence of these communities confirms the significance of glacial legacies in structuring soil microbial communities in Antarctica.
Article
Microbiology
Lefentse Mashamaite, Pedro H. Lebre, Gilda Varliero, Silindile Maphosa, Max Ortiz, Ian D. Hogg, Don A. Cowan
Summary: The study investigated the impact of altitude on soil microbial community structure and functionality in the Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys. The results showed clear altitudinal trends in soil microbial composition and structure, with cyanobacteria being more prevalent at higher altitudes. The shift from Basidiomycota to Chytridiomycota with increasing altitude was also observed. Additionally, the study found that trace-gas chemotrophs played a crucial role in microbial survival in oligotrophic environments, especially at lower altitudes. The findings highlight the importance of altitude as a driver of microbial ecology in Antarctic ice-free soil habitats.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Angelina Lo Giudice, Antonella Conte, Maria Papale, Carmen Rizzo, Maurizio Azzaro, Mauro Guglielmin
Summary: The genomic diversity of bacteria and archaea in brines from Antarctic lakes was investigated, revealing dominance of Bacteroidetes in bacterial communities and active presence of Betaproteobacteria in metabolically active fractions. The lakes also hosted thermally tolerant archaea and RNA sequences of hyperthermophilic genus Ferroglobus. The high abundance of methanogens in active community suggests anoxic conditions in the lake brines.
Article
Ecology
Yulia Zakharova, Maria Bashenkhaeva, Yuri Galachyants, Darya Petrova, Irina Tomberg, Artyom Marchenkov, Liubov Kopyrina, Yelena Likhoshway
Summary: The study revealed differences in composition and distribution of microbial communities between two subarctic lakes during the ice-cover period, with variations in abundance and composition of main bacterial taxa by time and habitat. The findings provide insights into the diversity and distribution of under-ice microbial communities, as well as their correlation with environmental factors such as snow thickness, pH, N-min concentration, and conductivity.
Article
Water Resources
Michael N. Gooseff, Diane M. McKnight, Peter T. Doran, Andrew Fountain
Summary: The McMurdo Dry Valleys, the largest ice-free region in Antarctica, have a milder climate and rely on the melting of glaciers for water sources. There are multiple meteorological and stream gauging stations operating in the valleys, collecting data that supports ecological research and other scientific endeavors.
HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
J. D. Toner, R. S. Sletten, L. Liu, D. C. Catling, D. W. Ming, A. Mushkin, P-C Lin
Summary: Through the investigation of Mars analog wet streaks, we found that the consistency between RSL and brine flows is low. The surface expression and dynamics of wet streaks are inconsistent with RSL, providing evidence against the hypothesis of brine flow formation of RSL.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Georgiy B. Kirillin, Tom Shatwell, Lijuan Wen
Summary: The lakes on the Tibetan Plateau mix completely under ice due to strong solar heating, forming stable thermal stratification before ice breakup. Heat flow from water to ice contributes significantly to ice cover melt, and the accumulated heat released into the atmosphere increases lake-atmosphere heat fluxes. The deep convective mixing also leads to aeration of deep lake waters and nutrient supply to the upper photic layer.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Yuri Galachyants, Yulia Zakharova, Maria Bashenkhaeva, Darya Petrova, Liubov Kopyrina, Yelena Likhoshway
Summary: This study investigated the microeukaryotic communities of the freshwater lakes Labynkyr and Vorota in Yakutia, Russia, using high-throughput 18S rRNA amplicon sequencing. The results showed that the community structure of the sub-ice layer and the water column differed due to temporal changes in environmental conditions, particularly temperature and electric conductivity. Additionally, the composition of unicellular eukaryotes in both lakes changed seasonally, suggesting the presence of a primer community in the sub-ice layer in April for summer freshwater microeukaryotes. This study expands our understanding of the community composition and seasonal succession of unicellular eukaryotes in subarctic freshwater ecosystems.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Henrique O. Sawakuchi, Gaetan Martin, Sari Peura, Stefan Bertilsson, Jan Karlsson, David Bastviken
Summary: Winter methane accumulation in seasonally ice-covered lakes can lead to large episodic emissions to the atmosphere during spring ice melt. The availability of phosphorus may limit methane oxidation in lakes, resulting in differences in emissions during ice-out periods. Increasing phosphorus concentration can enhance methane oxidation and reduce methane emissions, playing a critical role in regulating methane emissions from high latitude lakes.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-BIOGEOSCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
J. M. Cross, A. G. Fountain, M. J. Hoffman, M. K. Obryk
Summary: The McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica are home to a number of permanently ice-covered lakes that are fed by nearby glaciers. These lakes have experienced significant changes in water levels, and current trends show an increase after a period of decrease. The hydrology of these lakes is influenced by the energy available for melting glacier ice and sublimation of ice from the lake surface. A study was conducted on the three largest lakes in Taylor Valley to understand the factors affecting their water levels. The results showed that small changes in glacier albedo, air temperature, and wind speed can have a significant impact on lake levels. Additionally, a shallow groundwater system was hypothesized to contribute to the water inflow in one of the watersheds. The lakes in this region are currently out of balance with the climate, and if current climate trends continue, the water levels could rise by 2-17 meters by 2300.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-EARTH SURFACE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Gavin Piccione, Terrence Blackburn, Slawek Tulaczyk, E. Troy Rasbury, Mathis P. Hain, Daniel E. Ibarra, Katharina Methner, Chloe Tinglof, Brandon Cheney, Paul Northrup, Kathy Licht
Summary: Ice cores and offshore sedimentary records show increased ice loss along the coastal margins of Antarctica during warm periods in the last glacial termination. The study finds evidence for Antarctic ice sheet instability driven by millennial cycles in Southern Ocean temperature, providing clues for the mechanisms that link climate change and rapid Antarctic ice loss events.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xingren Liu, Zhanming Tang, Qingwen Zhang, Weidong Kong
Summary: This study evaluated the combined effects of biochar and straw on N2O flux and the community compositions of nitrifiers and denitrifiers in the maize season in an intensively farmed area in northern China. Biochar and straw applications significantly influenced N2O production by changing the soil factors and microbial gene abundances.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Hao Chen, Fei Wang, Weidong Kong, Hongzeng Jia, Tianqi Zhou, Ri Xu, Guangjian Wu, Junbo Wang, Jinshui Wu
Summary: The study found that soil microbial primary producers contribute significantly to CO2 fixation in a fragile dry grassland on the Tibetan Plateau, with a high proportion of plant gross primary productivity (GPP). Soil microbial GPP exhibited greater interannual variation than plant GPP, suggesting that the uncertainty in interannual GPP could be largely derived from microbial primary producers.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Biology
Xin Chen, Xiaodong Liu, Hongzeng Jia, Jing Jin, Weidong Kong, Yongsong Huang
Summary: Recent studies have found long-chain n-alkanes and n-alkanoic acids in sediments of desolate Antarctic ponds without vascular plants, displaying hydrogen isotopic values up to 300 per mil higher than lake water. This strongly inverse isotopic fractionation is believed to be predominantly produced by heterotrophic micro-organisms, based on experimental data. This represents the first clear example of heterotrophic microbial production of long-chain n-alkyl waxes in a natural environment.
Article
Environmental Sciences
J. D. Patriarche, J. C. Priscu, C. Takacs-Vesbach, L. Winslow, K. F. Myers, H. Buelow, R. M. Morgan-Kiss, P. T. Doran
Summary: Lake Bonney in East Antarctica's McMurdo Dry Valleys serves as a year-round refuge for life adapted to extreme conditions. Changes in phytoplankton communities in the lake were observed following a rapid rise in lake level during the summer of 2010-2011, with an increase in depth-integrated chlorophyll a levels linked to photoautotrophic green algae stimulation. Peaks in chlorophyll a during the polar night were associated with an increase in mixotrophic haptophytes and cryptophytes, revealing differential competitive dynamics among phytoplankton groups with varying trophic abilities over seasonal and long-term time scales.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-BIOGEOSCIENCES
(2021)
Review
Microbiology
Jason Bosch, Gilda Varliero, John E. Hallsworth, Tiffany D. Dallas, David Hopkins, Beat Frey, Weidong Kong, Pedro Lebre, Thulani P. Makhalanyane, Don A. Cowan
Summary: The loss of cellular water and resulting low cytosolic water activity are major stress factors for organisms, leading to molecular and physiological adaptations. While the changes within cells during desiccation and rehydration have been extensively studied, there is still limited knowledge on the metabolic status of organisms in the desiccated state, highlighting significant gaps in our understanding of molecular and biochemical processes in dry cells.
ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Hao Chen, Weidong Kong, Quan Shi, Fei Wang, Chen He, Jianshuang Wu, Qimei Lin, Xianzhou Zhang, Yong-Guan Zhu, Chao Liang, Yu Luo
Summary: The study found that the quantity and weight of DOM in dryland soils decreased, while the degradability of DOM increased with decreasing precipitation. Desert soils showed a 23.4% increase in DOM degradability compared to meadow soils, with a threefold higher ratio of MBC to total organic carbon. The results suggest that labile DOM accelerates microbial growth and SOM decomposition in desert soils.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Mukan Ji, Weidong Kong, Hongzeng Jia, Chen Ding, Alexandre M. Anesio, Yanfen Wang, Yong-Guan Zhu
Summary: This study used high-throughput sequencing to examine the characteristics of algal, bacterial, and fungal communities in red and green snow in the Antarctic Peninsula, revealing distinct features. The microbiome in red snow exhibited a more stable network and higher complexity compared to green snow, indicating a higher resistance to external disturbances.
Article
Plant Sciences
Sarah Stahl-Rommel, Isha Kalra, Susanna D'Silva, Mark M. Hahn, Devon Popson, Marina Cvetkovska, Rachael M. Morgan-Kiss
Summary: The Antarctic alga Chlamydomonas sp. UWO 241 demonstrated robust growth and photosynthetic activity under low temperature, high salinity, and high light conditions, outperforming its mesophilic sister species. UWO 241 exhibited unique photostasis mechanisms, such as higher rates of PSI-driven cyclic electron flow and increased capacity for nonphotochemical quenching.
PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Soil Science
Mukan Ji, Weidong Kong, Hongzeng Jia, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, Tianqi Zhou, Xiaodong Liu, Belinda C. Ferrari, Lucie Malard, Chao Liang, Kai Xue, Thulani P. Makhalanyane, Yong-Guan Zhu, Yanfen Wang, David A. Pearce, Don Cowan
Summary: The study reveals unique patterns of soil microbial diversity and taxonomic compositions in polar regions, and highlights the importance of environmental stresses in controlling soil microbial community.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Shasten Sherwell, Isha Kalra, Wei Li, Diane M. McKnight, John C. Priscu, Rachael M. Morgan-Kiss
Summary: The McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica have experienced climatic changes that have impacted the microbial communities in its lakes. The rise in lake levels and loss of ice cover have led to shifts in community composition, accumulation of organic carbon, and sensitivities in specific taxa. These disturbances are likely to undermine the stability and productivity of phytoplankton and bacterial communities in the future.
ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Fei Wang, Weidong Kong, Mukan Ji, Kang Zhao, Hao Chen, Linyan Yue, Xiaobin Dong
Summary: Excessive livestock grazing negatively affects the stability of soil cellulolytic fungal abundance and community structure. Grazing treatment resulted in significant changes in the abundance and community structure of soil cellulolytic fungi, while fencing treatment showed no changes. Grazing played a key role in determining the community structure of soil cellulolytic fungi, explaining 8.1% of the variation, while pH and DOC also had explanatory power. This study provides new insights into the responses of organic matter-decomposing microbes in grassland management.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Dandan Fan, Mukan Ji, Jianshuang Wu, Hao Chen, Hongzeng Jia, Xianzhou Zhang, Xuliang Zhuang, Weidong Kong
Summary: Animal grazing has substantial effects on soil arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and plants. However, its effects on AMF-plant interactions are still unclear, especially in dry grasslands where plants heavily rely on AMF for environmental stress tolerance. The Tibetan Plateau is experiencing rapid grassland degradation due to increased animal grazing. This study investigates the AMF-plant interactions and AMF community assembly processes in grazed and non-grazed grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Chunge Li, Ye Deng, Jingguo Wang, Weibin Ruan, Shang Wang, Weidong Kong
Summary: Soil phenolic acids, derived from crop residue and root exudates, can impact crop growth and soil microbial community. The study investigated the effects of p-hydroxyphenylacetic acid (HPA) and p-hydroxybenzoic acid (HBA) on soil microbial community in soybean and corn fields. HPA/HBA amendment significantly influenced soil bacterial and fungal community structures. HPA enriched bacteria like Gemmatimonas, Bacillus, and Acidobacteria, while HBA enriched fungi like Penicillium and Aspergillus. This research enhances understanding of the barriers to agricultural production caused by monoculture.
Article
Microbiology
Yazhou Tang, Dandan Fan, Wei Guo, Weidong Kong
Summary: The core subcommunity in soils has less diversity but high abundance, while the indicative subcommunity is highly diverse but low abundance. The core subcommunity is essential for maintaining ecosystem stability, while the indicative subcommunity plays a vital role in ecosystem functions and is more sensitive to environmental change. However, their responses to environmental factors and human disturbances are not well-defined. In this study, we investigated the distribution patterns of core and indicative soil microbes and their responses to animal grazing in dry grasslands across the Tibetan Plateau using Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA gene. The results showed that the core subcommunity had lower diversity and richness compared to the indicative subcommunity in soils. The diversity of the indicative subcommunity was strongly correlated with nutrient-associated factors, such as soil organic carbon, nitrogen, and plant biomass. Both the core and indicative microbial subcommunities showed significant variations in different grassland ecosystems, with the indicative subcommunity being more affected by grazing. The analysis revealed that the indicative microbial subcommunity was influenced less by environmental factors but more by grazing compared to the core subcommunity. These findings highlight the sensitivity of indicative microbes to soil nutrient-associated factors and human disturbances in alpine dry grasslands. This study provides insights into the diversity and structure of core and indicative subcommunities in grassland soils and their driving factors.
FEMS MICROBIOLOGY ECOLOGY
(2023)
Correction
Microbiology
Weidong Kong
FEMS MICROBIOLOGY ECOLOGY
(2021)
