Cyanobacterial diversity in soil crusts in the Sör Rondane Mountains

Antarctica is the only continent that is dominated by microbial (cyanobacteria and algae) and lower plant (predominantly mosses and lichens) communities. Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic bacteria that require solar light, liquid water, air and some mineral nutrients for growth. They serve as primary producers of organic matter in Antarctic ecosystems providing energy to other physiological groups of microorganisms and invertebrates. Cyanobacteria form macroscopically visible crusts or thin biofilms on the surface of soils and rocks, or occupy endolithic niches in Antarctic mountains.
Mountains exposed above the ice sheet could have remained ice-free during glaciation maxima in Antarctica. They could serve as a refuge for terrestrial biodiversity and potential source for recolonization of surrounding habitats during glacier retreat. Cyanobacterial diversity in habitats located above 1 km a.s.l. was studied in several Antarctic locations. These include: the Vinson Massif in Ellsworth Mountains (2000-2500 m a.s.l.), Beacon (1176 m a.s.l.) and University Valleys (1700 m a.s.l.) in the "stable upland zone" of the McMurdo Dry Valleys (Southern Victoria Land) and the Sör Rondane Mountains (1370-1700 m a.s.l.) (Yergeau et al., 2007; Wood et al., 2008; Fernandez-Carazo et al., 2012).
The goal of our work was to study cyanobacterial diversity of cyanobacteria in the Sör Rondane Mountains in the vicinity of Belgian Princess Elisabeth Station. Previous estimates of the diversity showed the presence of 10 morphotypes and 13 OTUs of cyanobacteria in 10 samples of biofilms and microbial crusts (Fernandez-Carazo et al., 2012). We performed a broader sampling and studied cyanobacterial diversity using DGGE with cyanospecific primers and microscopy. In 126 samples, we observed 15 morphotypes of cyanobacteria. 28 representative samples were selected for molecular analyses that revealed the presence of 28 OTUs (groups of 16S rRNA sequences sharing at least 97,5% sequence similarity).
Comparison with other mountainous areas of Antarctica showed that the Sör Rondane Mountains harbor a significantly higher cyanobacterial diversity. Molecular analysis of the cyanobacterial diversity in Beacon Valley didn't show the presence of cyanobacteria (Wood et al., 2008), though a strain of Chroococcidiopsis sp. (CCMEE 134) was isolated from a sample collected there (Billi et al., 2011). A strain of Chroococcidiopsis sp. (CCMEE 171-A789-2) was also isolated from samples collected in University Valley (Cumbers & Rothschild, 2014). 5 OTUs of cyanobacteria were detected in samples collected in Ellsworth Mountains despite of the presumably harsher climate (78°31′S latitude compared to 77°49′S for Beacon Valley) and higher altitude (Yergeau et al., 2007). No reliable climate data are available for the discussed areas, except for the Sor Rondane Mountains. We propose that the higher diversity of cyanobacteria detected near the Princess Elisabeth Station could be explained by a more intensive sampling or by a more northern location of the area (72°0′S).