Atmospheric trace gases support primary production in Antarctic desert surface soil

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dc.contributor.authorJi M
dc.contributor.authorGreening C
dc.contributor.authorCarere CR
dc.contributor.authorBay S
dc.contributor.authorSteen J
dc.contributor.authorMontgomery K
dc.contributor.authorLines T
dc.contributor.authorBeardall J
dc.contributor.authorvan Dorst J
dc.contributor.authorSnape I
dc.contributor.authorStott MB
dc.contributor.authorHugenholtz P
dc.contributor.authorFerrari B
dc.contributor.authorVanwonterghem, Inka
dc.date.accessioned2018-02-26T03:41:11Z
dc.date.available2018-02-26T03:41:11Z
dc.date.issued2017en
dc.date.updated2018-02-14T08:31:08Z
dc.description.abstractCultivation-independent surveys have shown that the desert soils of Antarctica harbour surprisingly rich microbial communities. Given that phototroph abundance varies across these Antarctic soils, an enduring question is what supports life in those communities with low photosynthetic capacity. Here we provide evidence that atmospheric trace gases are the primary energy sources of two Antarctic surface soil communities. We reconstructed 23 draft genomes from metagenomic reads, including genomes from the candidate bacterial phyla WPS-2 and AD3. The dominant community members encoded and expressed high-affinity hydrogenases, carbon monoxide dehydrogenases, and a RuBisCO lineage known to support chemosynthetic carbon fixation6. Soil microcosms aerobically scavenged atmospheric H2 and CO at rates sufficient to sustain their theoretical maintenance energy and mediated substantial levels of chemosynthetic but not photosynthetic CO2 fixation. We propose that atmospheric H2, CO2 and CO provide dependable sources of energy and carbon to support these communities, which suggests that atmospheric energy sources can provide an alternative basis for ecosystem function to solar or geological energy sources. Although more extensive sampling is required to verify whether this process is widespread in terrestrial Antarctica and other oligotrophic habitats, our results provide new understanding of the minimal nutritional requirements for life and open the possibility that atmospheric gases support life on other planets.en
dc.identifier.citationJi, M., Greening, C., Vanwonterghem, I., Carere, C., Bay, S., Steen, J., Montgomery, K., Lines, T., Beardall, J., van Dorst, J., Snape, I., Stott, M., Hugenholtz, P., Ferrari, B. (2017). Atmospheric trace gases support primary production in Antarctic desert surface soil. Nature, volume 552, pages 400–403 (21 December 2017) doi:10.1038/nature25014en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10092/15042
dc.language.isoen
dc.subjectmetagenomicsen
dc.subjectmicrobial ecologyen
dc.subjectsoil microbiologyen
dc.subject.anzsrcFields of Research::31 - Biological sciences::3107 - Microbiology::310703 - Microbial ecologyen
dc.subject.anzsrcField of Research::05 - Environmental Sciences::0503 - Soil Sciences::050303 - Soil Biologyen
dc.subject.anzsrcField of Research::06 - Biological Sciences::0604 - Genetics::060411 - Population, Ecological and Evolutionary Geneticsen
dc.titleAtmospheric trace gases support primary production in Antarctic desert surface soilen
dc.typeJournal Articleen
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