Metagenomic analysis of basal ice from an Alaskan glacier
Abstract
Background Glaciers cover ~ 10% of land but are among the least explored environments on Earth. The basal portion of glaciers often harbors unique aquatic microbial ecosystems in the absence of sunlight, and knowledge on the microbial community structures and their metabolic potential is very limited. Here, we provide insights into the microbial lifestyle present at the base of the Matanuska Glacier, Alaska. Results DNA and RNA were extracted from samples of the Matanuska Glacier basal ice. Using Illumina MiSeq and HiSeq sequencing, we investigated the microbial diversity with the metagenomic shotgun reads and 16S ribosomal RNA data. We further assembled 9 partial and draft bacterial genomes from the metagenomic assembly, and identified key metabolic pathways such as sulfur oxidation and nitrification. Collectively, our analyses suggest a prevalence of lithotrophic and heterotrophic metabolisms in the subglacial microbiome. Conclusion Our results present the first metagenomic assembly and bacterial draft genomes for a subglacial environment. These results extend our understanding of the chemical and biological processes in subglacial environments critically influenced by global climate change.
- Authors:
-
- Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China). School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, Ministry of Education Key Lab. of Bioinformatics
- Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States). College of Geosciences
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Biosciences Division; Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States). Microbiome Center, Dept. of Surgery
- Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China). School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, Ministry of Education Key Lab. of Bioinformatics
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Biosciences Division; Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States). Microbiome Center, Dept. of Surgery; Marine Biological Lab., Woods Hold, MA (United States). Microbiome Center
- Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States). Dept. of Microbiology and Cell Science, Biodiversity Inst.
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE; Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China; National Natural Science Foundation of China (NNSFC); National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1493906
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-06CH11357
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Microbiome
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 6; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2049-2618
- Publisher:
- BioMed Central
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; 58 GEOSCIENCES; 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; Microbiome; Metagenomics; Glacier; Basal ice layer
Citation Formats
Kayani, Masood ur Rehman, Doyle, Shawn M., Sangwan, Naseer, Wang, Guanqun, Gilbert, Jack A., Christner, Brent C., and Zhu, Ting F. Metagenomic analysis of basal ice from an Alaskan glacier. United States: N. p., 2018.
Web. doi:10.1186/s40168-018-0505-5.
Kayani, Masood ur Rehman, Doyle, Shawn M., Sangwan, Naseer, Wang, Guanqun, Gilbert, Jack A., Christner, Brent C., & Zhu, Ting F. Metagenomic analysis of basal ice from an Alaskan glacier. United States. doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-018-0505-5
Kayani, Masood ur Rehman, Doyle, Shawn M., Sangwan, Naseer, Wang, Guanqun, Gilbert, Jack A., Christner, Brent C., and Zhu, Ting F. Thu .
"Metagenomic analysis of basal ice from an Alaskan glacier". United States. doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-018-0505-5. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1493906.
@article{osti_1493906,
title = {Metagenomic analysis of basal ice from an Alaskan glacier},
author = {Kayani, Masood ur Rehman and Doyle, Shawn M. and Sangwan, Naseer and Wang, Guanqun and Gilbert, Jack A. and Christner, Brent C. and Zhu, Ting F.},
abstractNote = {Background Glaciers cover ~ 10% of land but are among the least explored environments on Earth. The basal portion of glaciers often harbors unique aquatic microbial ecosystems in the absence of sunlight, and knowledge on the microbial community structures and their metabolic potential is very limited. Here, we provide insights into the microbial lifestyle present at the base of the Matanuska Glacier, Alaska. Results DNA and RNA were extracted from samples of the Matanuska Glacier basal ice. Using Illumina MiSeq and HiSeq sequencing, we investigated the microbial diversity with the metagenomic shotgun reads and 16S ribosomal RNA data. We further assembled 9 partial and draft bacterial genomes from the metagenomic assembly, and identified key metabolic pathways such as sulfur oxidation and nitrification. Collectively, our analyses suggest a prevalence of lithotrophic and heterotrophic metabolisms in the subglacial microbiome. Conclusion Our results present the first metagenomic assembly and bacterial draft genomes for a subglacial environment. These results extend our understanding of the chemical and biological processes in subglacial environments critically influenced by global climate change.},
doi = {10.1186/s40168-018-0505-5},
journal = {Microbiome},
number = 1,
volume = 6,
place = {United States},
year = {2018},
month = {7}
}
Web of Science
Figures / Tables:

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Works referencing / citing this record:
Culture-independent molecular techniques for soil microbial ecology
journal, June 2010
- Hirsch, Penny R.; Mauchline, Tim H.; Clark, Ian M.
- Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Vol. 42, Issue 6
The basal ice layer of glaciers and ice sheets
journal, January 1997
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- Quaternary Science Reviews, Vol. 16, Issue 9
Glaciohydraulic supercooling: a freeze-on mechanism to create stratified, debris-rich basal ice: I. Field evidence
journal, January 1998
- Lawson, Daniel E.; Strasser, Jeffrey C.; Evenson, Edward B.
- Journal of Glaciology, Vol. 44, Issue 148
Glaciohydraulic supercooling: a freeze-on mechanism to create stratified, debris-rich basal ice: II. Theory
journal, January 1998
- Alley, Richard B.; Lawson, Daniel E.; Evenson, Edward B.
- Journal of Glaciology, Vol. 44, Issue 148
Short-pulse radar wavelet recovery and resolution of dielectric contrasts within englacial and basal ice of Matanuska Glacier, Alaska, U.S.A.
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Biogeochemical weathering under ice: Size matters: GLACIAL BIOGEOCHEMICAL WEATHERING
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- Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Vol. 24, Issue 3
Molecular and biogeochemical evidence for methane cycling beneath the western margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet
journal, April 2014
- Dieser, Markus; Broemsen, Erik L. J. E.; Cameron, Karen A.
- The ISME Journal, Vol. 8, Issue 11
Stabilizing feedbacks in glacier-bed erosion
journal, August 2003
- Alley, R. B.; Lawson, D. E.; Larson, G. J.
- Nature, Vol. 424, Issue 6950
A microbial ecosystem beneath the West Antarctic ice sheet
journal, August 2014
- Christner, Brent C.; Priscu, John C.; Achberger, Amanda M.
- Nature, Vol. 512, Issue 7514
Debris-Rich Basal Ice as a Microbial Habitat, Taylor Glacier, Antarctica
journal, October 2013
- Montross, Scott; Skidmore, Mark; Christner, Brent
- Geomicrobiology Journal, Vol. 31, Issue 1
A Comparison of the Pebble Orientations in Ice and Deposits of the Matanuska Glacier, Alaska
journal, November 1979
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- The Journal of Geology, Vol. 87, Issue 6
Subglacial Lake Whillans microbial biogeochemistry: a synthesis of current knowledge
journal, January 2016
- Mikucki, J. A.; Lee, P. A.; Ghosh, D.
- Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, Vol. 374, Issue 2059
Chemolithotrophic Primary Production in a Subglacial Ecosystem
journal, August 2014
- Boyd, Eric S.; Hamilton, Trinity L.; Havig, Jeff R.
- Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 80, Issue 19
Influence of bedrock mineral composition on microbial diversity in a subglacial environment
journal, August 2013
- Mitchell, Andrew C.; Lafrenière, Melissa J.; Skidmore, Mark L.
- Geology, Vol. 41, Issue 8
Estuaries beneath ice sheets
journal, September 2013
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- Geology, Vol. 41, Issue 11
Basal ice formation and deformation: a review
journal, December 1989
- Hubbard, Bryn; Sharp, Martin
- Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment, Vol. 13, Issue 4
Structural control of englacial conduits in the temperate Matanuska Glacier, Alaska, USA
journal, January 2009
- Gulley, Jason
- Journal of Glaciology, Vol. 55, Issue 192
Basal-crevasse-fill origin of laminated debris bands at Matanuska Glacier, Alaska, U.S.A.
journal, January 2001
- Ensminger, Staci L.; Alley, Richard B.; Evenson, Edward B.
- Journal of Glaciology, Vol. 47, Issue 158
Microbial Community Structure of Subglacial Lake Whillans, West Antarctica
journal, September 2016
- Achberger, Amanda M.; Christner, Brent C.; Michaud, Alexander B.
- Frontiers in Microbiology, Vol. 7
Characterizing Microbial Diversity and the Potential for Metabolic Function at −15 °C in the Basal Ice of Taylor Glacier, Antarctica
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