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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 2003, p . 6610-6619, Vol . 69, No . 11
Diversity and Structure of Bacterial Communities in Arctic versus Antarctic Pack Ice
Robin Brinkmeyer,1 Katrin Knittel,2 Jutta Jürgens,1 Horst Weyland,1 Rudolf Amann,2 and Elisabeth Helmke1*
Alfred
Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research,
Bremerhaven,1
Max Planck
Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen,Germany2
Received 27 January 2003/
Accepted 4 August 2003
A
comprehensive assessment of bacterial diversity and community
composition in arctic and antarctic pack ice was conducted through
cultivation and cultivation-independent molecular techniques . We
sequenced 16S rRNA genes from 115 and 87 pure cultures of bacteria
isolated from arctic and antarctic pack ice, respectively . Most of the
33 arctic phylotypes were >97% identical to previously
described antarctic species or to our own antarctic isolates . At both
poles, the
- and
-proteobacteria and the
Cytophaga-Flavobacterium group were the dominant
taxonomic bacterial groups identified by cultivation as well as by
molecular methods . The analysis of 16S rRNA gene clone libraries from
multiple arctic and antarctic pack ice samples revealed a high
incidence of closely overlapping 16S rRNA gene clone and isolate
sequences . Simultaneous analysis of environmental samples with
fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) showed that
95% of 4',6'-diamidino-2-phenylindole
(DAPI)-stained cells hybridized with the general bacterial probe
EUB338 . More than 90% of those were further assignable.
Approximately 50 and 36% were identified as
-proteobacteria in arctic and antarctic samples,respectively . Approximately 25% were identified as
-proteobacteria, and 25% were identified as belonging
to the Cytophaga-Flavobacterium group . For the
quantification of specific members of the sea ice community, new
oligonucleotide probes were developed which target the genera
Octadecabacter, Glaciecola, Psychrobacter,
Marinobacter, Shewanella, and Polaribacter.
High FISH detection rates of these groups as well as high viable counts
corroborated the overlap of clone and isolate sequences . A terrestrial
influence on the arctic pack ice community was suggested by the
presence of limnic
phylotypes .
Pack ice in the Arctic and Antarctic, with its vast extension and high
biological productivity
(3,
34,
35,
36,
56),constitutes one of the most significant polar ecosystems . Several
similarities exist between the sea ice regimes in the north and the
south; however, there are also fundamental differences in formation,
development, thickness, maturity, and ice crystal structure
(57) . Moreover, the
Arctic Ocean, in contrast to the Southern Ocean, is strongly influenced
by warm Atlantic waters and has a high terrestrial input due to its
nearly complete enclosure by landmasses . Whether these differences
influence the colonization of sea ice and the development of microbial
sea ice communities is still an open question .
Phylogenetic
diversity studies of sea ice bacterial communities have focused mainly
on the Antarctic (8,
18) . In particular,
land-fast ice surrounding the McMurdo base and pack ice between the
Casey and Davis bases has been investigated . Sampling was limited to
spring and summer seasons . The few arctic sea ice samples considered
came from Baffin Bay
(18), the
Chukchi Sea (41), and
Barrow, Alaska (31).
Cultivation approaches provided the initial view of diversity of sea
ice bacteria, mainly in the Antarctic, and revealed several novel
genera and species that appear to be specific to sea ice
(8,
9,
10,
11,
12,
13,
14,
15,
30,
32,
33,
40,
46) . Only recently, the
first phylogenetic analyses of environmental DNA from antarctic sea ice
including a single arctic sample was reported, indicating some overlap
of antarctic and arctic sea ice 16S rRNA gene phylotypes
(18) .
The aim of
this study was to compare the diversity and structure of bacterial
communities in arctic versus antarctic pack ice by cultivation and
cultivation-independent methods, making use of sea ice samples from
yet-unconsidered geographical areas and seasons . We sequenced 16S rRNA
genes from pure-culture isolates and from environmental samples derived
from multiyear arctic pack ice north of Svalbard and the Fram
Strait . The pack ice in this region is strongly influenced
by terrestrial input from Siberian rivers
(51) . 16S rRNA genes from
pure cultures isolated from first-year (annual) antarctic pack ice
sampled in the Weddell Sea during midwinter
(36) as well as
environmental samples from the Lazarev Sea taken during autumn were
also sequenced . To find out if community composition is affected by the
starkly contrasting sea ice habitats at either pole, fluorescence in
situ hybridization (FISH) was applied to the environmental samples . New
oligonucleotide probes specific for several members of the sea ice
bacterial community were developed and used in combination with
previously published probes for the FISH analyses . We present a
comprehensive survey of bacterial diversity in arctic and antarctic
pack ice and report the first data for in situ distribution and
abundance of bacteria in sea
ice .
Sampling, processing, total and
viable counts, and isolation.
Multiyear arctic pack ice samples
(thickness, 3 to 5 m) were collected during the R.
V . Polarstern summer cruises ARKXIII/2 (June to July 1997),
ARKXV/1 (June to July 1999), and ARKXVI/2 (July to August 2000) in the
Fram Strait and northeast of Svalbard in the Arctic Ocean . First-year
antarctic pack ice was sampled during the R . V.
Polarstern midwinter cruise ANTV/2 (July to September 1986) in
the open Weddell Sea and during the autumnal cruise ANTXI/4 (March to
April 1994) in the area of the Lazarev Sea . Positions of all stations
are shown in Fig.
1 . Sea ice samples with and without algal accumulation were present among
the arctic and the antarctic samples . The ARKXV/1 station ice core
contained several large sediment inclusions . Samples were collected and
processed as described previously by Helmke and Weyland
(36) . The arctic pack ice
isolates were derived from the bottom sections of 10 different ice
cores collected during cruise ARKXIII/2 . The antarctic strains were
isolated from the upper, middle, and bottom sections of seven ice cores
as well as from grease ice and freshly formed pancake ice sampled
during cruise ANTV/2
(36) . Pure cultures were
obtained from chitin agar
(36), ZoBell agar 2216E,
and a nutrient-poor agar medium containing 200 mg of yeast extract and
1 g of potassium nitrate in 1 liter of natural
seawater . Total and viable counts were determined as
previously described by Helmke and Weyland
(36) . Samples for clone
libraries and FISH were collected during cruises ARKXV/1,ARKXVI/2, and ANTXI/4 . Bacterioplankton of melted-ice samples
(36) were collected onto
polycarbonate filters (pore size, 0.2 µm) and stored at
-80°C for later extraction of nucleic acids . Parallel
samples were fixed with paraformaldehyde (final concentration, 2 to
4% [vol/vol]), immobilized on polycarbonate filters
(pore size, 0.2 µm), and then rinsed with 3 ml each of
phosphate-buffered saline and distilled water . Air-dried filters were
stored at -20°C until analysis with FISH . Total count
preservations were fixed with formalin (final concentration, 3%
[vol/vol]) and stored at 2°C for up to 2 months
before enumeration
(38) .
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FIG . 1 . Sampling
stations in the Arctic Ocean and Fram Strait (A) and the
Weddell and Lazarev Seas in the Southern Ocean (B) . Crosses represent
sampling stations for isolate cultures and closed circles represent
sampling stations for environmental samples . Maps were generated with
PanMap software
(http://www.pangaea.de).
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Extraction
of nucleic acids, amplification of 16S rRNA gene, and clone library
construction.
Nucleic acids
from pure cultures were extracted with a 3%
cetyltrimethylammonium bromide procedure
(22) For clone libraries,
total community nucleic acids from filtered samples were extracted
using the DNeasy tissue kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany) with additional
lysozyme and lysostaphin preincubations . Efficiency of the
preincubation was controlled by microscopic examination of filters
before and after processing . Between 95 and 97% of observable
4',6'-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI)-stained bacterial
cells were effectively lysed . An additional purification step carried
out with the WIZARD DNA Cleanup System (Promega Corp., Madison, Wis.)
was necessary to remove potential PCR inhibitors that were coextracted
from samples .
Nearly full-length 16S rRNA gene sequences were
amplified from isolate and environmental sample nucleic acid extracts
(approximately 100 ng) by hot-start PCR with an automated thermal
cycler (Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany) by using the bacterium-specific
primers 8f and 1542r (for isolates) or 1492r
(for environmental samples) under the conditions described previously
by Kopp et al.
(42) . PCR
products were purified with the QIAquick purification kit (Qiagen) . 16S
rRNA gene clone libraries were constructed with the pGEM-T-Easy vector
system (Promega Corp.) .
ARDRA,
sequencing, and phylogenetic analysis.
Amplified rDNA restriction analysis
(ARDRA) (45) was used to
characterize the 16S rRNA gene diversity within the culture collections
and clone libraries . One, or in some cases, several representatives of
the ARDRA pattern groups from each culture collection and clone library
were selected for sequencing . Sequence data were analyzed with the ARB
software package
(http://www.mikro.biologie.tu-muenchen.de).
Dendrograms (viewable at http://www.awi-bremerhaven.de/Pelagic/Sections/MarineChemistry/Helmke_seaice1-dohtml)
were reconstructed for the phylogenetic analysis . The
frequencies of 16S rRNA gene phylotypes determined by ARDRA and
subsequent sequencing (i.e., those sharing >97%
identity) were used for analysis of diversity . Shannon's index for
diversity (H') was calculated according to the method of Zar
(65) . Rarefaction curves
were interpolated with the freeware program Analytic Rarefaction 1.3
(http://www.uga.edu/ strata/software/index.html).Coverage of the clone libraries was estimated as described previously
by Mullins et al.
(48) .
Probe
design and FISH.
Oligonucleotide probes ranging in
specificity from domain to species level (Table
1) were used with FISH to examine community structure of bacteria in
arctic and antarctic pack ice . Probes for several bacterial groups
characteristic of the sea ice community were developed and tested for
hybridization specificity according to the method of Stahl and Amann
(59) (Table
1) . All of the probes have
at least one strong mismatch (1.1 to 2.8 weighted mismatches); however,
in some cases, a competitor was designed to enhance probe specificity
(Table 1) . FISH analysis
with CY3-labeled oligonucleotide probes (final concentration, 5
ng/µl; Interactiva, Ulm, Germany) was conducted according to
the previously described method of Glöckner et al.
(27) .
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TABLE 1 . Oligonucleotide
probes used in this study
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Nucleotide
sequence accession numbers.
The almost full-length
(>1,400 bases) 16S rRNA gene sequences from 196 isolates and 84
clones generated in this study were deposited in GenBank under the
accession numbers AF468274
to AF468299, AF468301
to AF468321, AF468343
to AF468447, AY167251
to AY167341, AY165563
to AY165581,
and AY165583
to AY165598 .
Total
counts and culturability.
Total counts of bacteria in arctic pack
ice from bottom sections at 10 stations, collected during the R.V.
Polarstern ARKXIII/2 cruise, ranged from 0.98 x
105 to 14.90 x 105 cells/ml (Table
2) . Viable counts determined by CFU on chitin agar
(36) at 1°C
varied from 4.1 to as high as 26.5% (Table
2), which was within the
range of viable/total count ratios for the middle and bottom sections
of the diverse ANTV/2 winter pack ice samples
(36) . Total counts of
bacteria in sea ice-adjacent water were comparable to densities in the
ice floes; however, similar to the antarctic results
(36), less than 1%
of the bacteria were cultivatable (Table
2) .
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TABLE 2 . Cell
counts and culturability of bacteria in pack ice and seawater sampled
during cruise ARKXIII/2
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Total counts of
samples used for FISH and cloning were comparable to those used for
isolation . Samples from arctic pack ice contained (3.61 ± 0.25)
x 105 (ARKXV/1) and (4.56 ± 0.26) x
105 (ARKXVI/2) cells/ml . Cell counts for the autumnal
antarctic ice samples with very high algae accumulations were almost an
order of magnitude higher than those for the arctic samples, with (2.11
± 0.51) x 106 (ANTXI/4_13) and (1.12
± 0.72) x 106 (ANTXI/4_14)
cells/ml .
Phylogenetic diversity of arctic
isolates and 16S rRNA gene clones.
ARDRA screening of pure
cultures of arctic pack ice and subsequent sequencing of
representatives from each ARDRA pattern group revealed 33 phylotypes
distributed among the
- and
-proteobacteria, the
Cytophaga-Flavobacterium (CF) group, and the
Actinobacteria (Table
3).
Thirteen phylotypes had >97% 16S rRNA gene
sequence identity with species previously isolated from polar sea ice
(8,
30,
32,
33) and other polar
environments . Most of those sea ice isolates are recognizable in Table
3 and in the figures accessible online at htpp://www.awi-bremerhaven.de/Pelagic/Sections/MarineChemistry/Helmke_seaice1-d.html, htpp://www.awi-bremerhaven.de/Pelagic/Sections/MarineChemistry/Helmke_seaice2=d.html,
and htpp://www.awi -bremerhaven.de/Pelagic/Sections/MarineChemistry/Helmke_seaice3-d.html by strain names beginning with ACAM or IC . Seven phylotypes shared
<97% 16S rRNA gene sequence identity with previously
described bacteria and can be considered new species
(58) . The remaining 13
phylotypes were related to isolates or 16S rRNA gene clones from
nonpolar habitats and are therefore suspected to be
allochthonous .
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TABLE 3 . Phylogenetic
affiliations and frequency of isolates and clone libraries
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The highest diversity of phylotypes was found
within the
-proteobacteria (see supplemental figure
at http://www.awi-bremerhaven.de/Pelagic/Sections/MarineChemistry/Helmke_seaice1-d.html)
with Marinobacter spp . as the dominant phylotype . Most of the
phylotypes identified as
-proteobacteria were
affiliated to the Roseobacter clade, with
Octadecabacter spp . being the most frequently isolated
phylotype (see supplemental figure at http://www.awi-bremerhaven.de/Pelagic/Sections/MarineChemistry/Helmke_seaice2-d.html).
Additional phylotypes within the
-proteobacteria were
associated with Sphingomonas spp . Seven phylotypes were
detected within the CF group (see supplemental figure at http://www.awi-bremerhaven.de/Pelagic/Sections/MarineChemistry/Helmke_seaice3-d.html)
with the numerically abundant Salegentibacter spp . and
Psychroserpens spp . Four highly diverse gram-positive
phylotypes representing potentially four genera (Clavibacter,
Microbacterium, Brachybacterium, and
Nesterenkonia) within the phylum Actinobacteria were
also identified (Table
3) .
PCR and cloning
analysis of 16S rRNA genes from two discrete arctic samples revealed 28
different phylotypes (Table
3) . Ten clone phylotypes
were 95 to 100% identical to our arctic isolates, and seven were
identical to previously cultivated antarctic bacteria . Only four clones
clustered with sequences from isolates of nonpolar origin, and six
clones clustered with sequences from not-yet-cultivated bacteria.
Although clones and isolates derived from different sea ice samples,
the same phylotypes (the Colwellia spp . and the
Glaciecola spp . within the Colwellia assemblage
[61], the
Marinobacter spp., and the Octadecabacter spp.) were
found to dominate . Within the CF group, only three different clone
phylotypes were obtained . The most abundant CF clone phylotype had no
counterpart among the sea ice
isolates .
Phylogenetic diversity of
antarctic isolates and 16S rRNA gene clones.
With only 20 phylotypes, the diversity
of the antarctic sea ice isolates was less than that among our arctic
isolates (Table 3) . Most
of the antarctic isolates were >98% identical to species
previously isolated from the antarctic and/or arctic sea ice or other
polar habitats (supplemental figures) . Similar to the arctic isolates,
the antarctic phylotypes were distributed among the
- and
-proteobacteria as well as the CF group . The
Actinobacteria were represented by only one isolate.
Colwellia spp . and Glaciecola spp . were the most
abundant
-proteobacteria . In contrast to the arctic isolates,
the Marinobacter spp . were rare . Similar to arctic sea ice,
the
-proteobacteria were dominated by members of the
Roseobacter clade, but Octadecabacter was not the
prevalent phylotype in antarctic pack ice . Instead, three phylotypes
that clustered with Roseobacter sp . strain Shippagan and other
yet-undescribed isolates were quite numerous . In comparison to the
arctic isolates, the diversity of the CF group was clearly reduced and
concentrated within the Polaribacter group .
Like our
arctic clone libraries, cloned 16S rRNA genes from antarctic pack ice
samples (ANTXI/4_13 and ANTXI/4_14) revealed a strong
overlap of phylotypes with cultivated isolates (Table
3), although these samples
were derived from sea ice of a different season . However, unlike our
arctic libraries, diversity of the antarctic clones was limited to
typical sea ice phylotypes . Again, the Colwellia assemblage,
the Roseobacter clade, and the CF group (in particular, the
Polaribacter spp.) were the dominant phylogenetic
groups .
Analysis of diversity.
Using a two-tailed t test
( = 0.05)
(65), we tested
Shannon's index (H') of diversity for arctic versus
antarctic isolates and clone libraries for significant differences.
These results are included in Table
3 and show that diversity
of arctic isolate phylotypes was significantly higher than that of
antarctic isolates . Similarly, diversity in the arctic clone libraries
was significantly higher than in the antarctic clone libraries.
Coverage indicated that most of the actual diversity of antarctic pack
ice (82 and 85%) had been revealed by cloning, whereas only 50
to 75% of the actual diversity in arctic pack ice had been
detected . For rarefaction analysis, the expected number of ARDRA
patterns was plotted at one-knot intervals
(63) against the number
of individuals (clones or isolates) screened . Curves
calculated for the isolates and clones indicated that the
number of 16S rRNA phylotypes in arctic and antarctic pack
ice had reached saturation (data not
shown) .
Community structure.
Percent distributions of
bacteria in samples from arctic and antarctic pack ice that
hybridized with domains to species-specific probes are
listed in Table
4 . Target groups for most of the probes used in this study are
bracketed in the online dendrograms . The target groups for probes and
their percent frequencies (identified from ARDRA patterns) in the clone
libraries and cultures are included in Table
4 for comparison . In most
cases, phylogenetic groups detected by isolation and cloning were also
detectable with FISH . Most of the bacteria visualized with DAPI
staining ( 95%) were detectable with the EUB338 probe
specific for Bacteria . The background signal of
samples, observed with the probe NON338, was negligible (0 to
0.1%) . For all samples, most of the DAPI-stained cells
(>95%) could be assigned with probes targeting the
larger phylogenetic groups within the domain Bacteria . In
arctic samples, the highest percentage of bacterial cells
( 50%) was detected with the
-proteobacteria-specific probe . The
-proteobacteria
and the CF group accounted for
30% and
25% of the total bacteria, respectively.
ß-Proteobacteria were also detected in samples, making up
6% of the total bacteria . Abundances of gram-positive
bacteria, Planctomycetales, and Archaea were below
the detection limit of FISH . Similar to arctic samples, the
-proteobacteria accounted for the highest fraction
( 36%) of the total in antarctic samples . The CF group
made up the second-highest distribution of cells, with a fraction of
32%, followed by the
-proteobacteria, with a
fraction of
25% . A few ß-proteobacteria
( 2%) were detectable . Gram-positive bacteria,
Planctomycetales, and Archaea were not observable in
either antarctic sample .
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TABLE 4 . Frequency
of bacterial phylotypes in Arctic and Antarctic pack ice observed by
FISH in comparison to clone and isolate libraries
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We took a closer look at the
community composition using probes more specific for the most abundant
group, the
-proteobacteria . Application of two partially
overlapping probes specific for the
Alteromonas-Colwellia (ALT1413) and
Pseudoalteromonas-Colwellia
(PSA184) groups within the Colwellia assemblage resulted in
very similar numbers . Probes ALT1413 and PSA184 hybridized with
31 and
34% of DAPI-stained cells in arctic
samples, and each accounted for
20% in antarctic
samples . The newly designed probes GVstr214 and GPU622, nesting within
the Pseudoalteromonas-Colwellia group, detected only
up to 5% of the total bacteria, respectively, although they were
quite redundant in the clone libraries . Most of the remaining
-proteobacteria could be assigned with probes targeting groups
outside of the Colwellia assemblage . Marinobacter sp.
strain IC022, which was frequent in our ARKXV/1 clone library and among
our arctic isolates, was also found in situ with the probe MB-IC022 to
make up
22% of the total bacteria in the arctic
samples . Concurring with the clone library results, we detected no
bacteria with this probe in the antarctic samples.
Psychrobacter spp . were detectable in all samples with probe
PSYB476 ( 6%) . Shewanella frigidimarina (probe
SF825) appeared to occur mainly in arctic pack ice (3 to 7%),
and Oceanospirillum spp., Vibrio spp.,
Psychromonas spp., and Pseudomonas spp . were either
low in abundance (1 to 3%) or not detectable .
The
-proteobacterial sequences in clone libraries and cultures
were mostly, if not entirely, associated with members of the
Roseobacter clade . Our probing results corroborated that this
clade accounted for most of the
-proteobacteria in the
samples . Octadecabacter spp., which predominated in number
among Roseobacter clade isolates and clone sequences, also
dominated the in situ community of arctic samples . In antarctic
samples, similar to the clone results, very few cells of
Octadecabacter spp . were detected . Probe RSHP995, which was
specific for a group of sequences that were >97%
identical to Roseobacter sp . strain Shippagan, detected only a
small fraction (<1%) in arctic samples but was more
abundant ( 2 to 3%) in antarctic samples . Probe PB223,
which was specific for Polaribacter spp., detected only
1% of cells in arctic samples while, similar to our
cultural and cloning results, Polaribacter spp . dominated the
CF fraction of the antarctic
samples .
Congruence
of cultivation, 16S rRNA gene cloning, and FISH.
The strong agreement of the results
obtained with the described methods emphasizes the exceptional nature
of sea ice bacterial communities, which have highly active members
despite the extreme conditions in sea ice . The high percentages of
cultivatable bacteria observed in the viable/total count ratio data
from arctic pack ice in this study and former studies
(36,
41) indicated that the
composition of phylotypes observed among our cultures potentially
represent much of the natural community composition . Although the
original samples used for cultivation were not available for molecular
analyses, cloning of 16S rRNA genes recovered from sea ice samples
collected during subsequent cruises detected many of the same
phylotypes found among cultivated sea ice bacteria . During the course
of our clone library analyses, Brown and Bowman
(18) presented the first
16S rRNA environmental sequence data from sea ice, mainly in the
antarctic, which showed that previously cultivated phylotypes (see the
sequences designated SIC, McMurdo, or ARCTIC_ICE in the online
dendrograms) are detectable with PCR . Their data agreed with our
findings that the cultivatable fraction and the PCR-detected fraction
of bacteria in sea ice are strongly overlapping . These findings are in
strong contrast to those for most marine environments, for which
cultivation and cloning analyses rarely agree .
The high FISH
detection yield of the CY3-monolabeled probe EUB338, which was specific
for the domain Bacteria with
95% of
DAPI-stained cells and the bright probe signals
(54), indicated that the
sea ice microbial community, as a whole, was highly active at the time
of sampling . With the exception of activated sludge
(2), there are very few
examples of microbial habitats with FISH detection rates as high as
those in sea ice . Typically, only
50% of the
bacterioplankton community can be detected with domain-specific probes
(28), and much less
( 60%, i.e., sum of probes) of the bacterial fraction
can usually be assigned to specific phylogenetic groups . Some trends in
the marine environment are emerging . Glöckner et al.
(28) reported 96%
detectability of DAPI-stained cells with EUB338 and >87%
assignability with phylogenetic group probes in a sample collected from
a Phaeocystis sp . bloom in the Southern Ocean . Similarly,
Eilers et al . (24)
observed that FISH detection rates of bacterial communities increased
dramatically from 30 to >90% as phytoplankton biomass
peaked over the course of a seasonal bloom in the German Bight . Unlike
these studies that showed highest assignability for the CF group, the
-proteobacteria was the predominating group in our sea ice
samples, and this finding appears to be a unique characteristic for sea
ice bacterial communities
(7,
28) . FISH analysis of sea
ice sampled throughout several seasons is needed to confirm
this .
A reason for the different FISH detection yields in sea ice
and in the water column could be the different substrate quantity and
quality found in the two environments . High concentrations of dissolved
organic matter (DOM) in sea ice have been reported for the Arctic Ocean
(62) and the Southern
Ocean (37),exceeding surface seawater concentration by a factor of 2 to 30.
Additionally, DOM in sea ice appears to be very labile, providing a
favorable growth substrate for bacteria
(3) . The high substrate
quality leads to increased microbial activity in sea ice relative to
surface seawater, which usually contains less fresh and labile
(<10%) DOM
(3,
4) . The higher microbial
activity in sea ice seems to be reflected in elevated FISH detection
yields .
Arctic versus antarctic
communities.
The higher
diversity of phylotypes indicated by the Shannon's index for our
arctic sea ice isolates and clone libraries as well as the detection of
typical limnic phylotypes, i.e., ß-proteobacteria and
Actinobacteria
(7,
29,
47), suggest a
terrestrial influence on the sea ice bacterial communities found in the
pack ice of the Fram Strait region . Seasonality also appears to
influence the diversity of antarctic pack ice communities . Fewer
taxonomic groups were detected in our winter and autumnal samples than
in previous surveys of summer sea ice
(8,
18) .
Temperature
plays an important role in shaping the composition of sea ice bacterial
communities (18,
20,
36); however, the
dominance of the Colwellia assemblage, the
Roseobacter clade, and the CF group in both arctic as well as
antarctic pack ice may also be explained by the strong association of
these groups with surfaces
(1,
19,
21,
24,
52) . Studies have shown
that the recruitment of bacteria into sea ice is primarily facilitated
through their attachment to microalgae or particles
(34,
35) . The dominant groups
in sea ice are also characteristic of the cultivatable fraction of
bacteria in seawater (6,
23,
24) . Although less than
1% of the bacteria in seawater adjacent to ice floes (Table
2) were cultivatable, most
of these in the arctic were similar to phylotypes found in the sea ice
(included in the online dendrograms) .
The general similarity of
bacterial phylotypes in arctic and antarctic pack ice implies that the
same selective mechanisms occur at both poles . However, this alone
cannot explain the extensive overlap of almost identical 16S rRNA
phylotypes (25 out of 33) between the arctic and antarctic sea ice
communities and makes a simple speciation model based on geographical
isolation difficult to support, especially since phylogenetic surveys
of the world's oceans and lakes
(5,
17,
25,
29,
39,
48,
66) have strongly
suggested the mixing of bacterial populations on a global scale . The
physiological (i.e., psychrophily or high hydrostatic pressure
intolerance) and geographic distance barriers
(60) appear to be
permeable . However, analysis at the conservative gene level of 16S rRNA
is not sufficient to determine if the same species occur at both poles.
Other analytical methods, e.g., DNA-DNA hybridization, could elucidate
diversity that is not detectable by 16S rRNA gene
sequencing .
Conclusions.
The strong overlap of the cultivatable,
PCR-, and FISH-detected bacterial fractions in arctic as well as
antarctic sea ice indicated exceptional bacterial communities whose
major parts are metabolically active and cultivatable . Similar to
nutrient-enriched samples,
-proteobacteria were dominant and
-proteobacteria and members of the CF group were highly
abundant . Although almost the same phylotypes were detected at both
poles, differences in their quantitative contribution to the arctic and
antarctic pack ice communities were revealed by
FISH .
This study was supported by
the German Ministry of Education and Science (grant no . BMBF 03F0233B),
the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research Foundation,
and the Max Planck Society .
We thank the captains and crews of
the R . V . Polarstern cruises ANTV/2, ANTXI/4,
ARKXVIII/2, ARKXV/1, and ARKXVI/2 for their assistance . We are also
grateful to our fellow scientists on these cruises who volunteered to
assist with sample collection . In particular, we are indebted to the
VICTOR6000 team of the IFREMER Institute and to K . Berlitz, M . Wanger,
J . Jokiel, K . Darling, D . Kroon, S . Schmidt, K . Reuter, S . Klein, J.
Langreder, S . Ackley, G . Dieckmann, K . Meiners, K . von
Juterzenka, Y . Okolodkov, and U . Klauke for assistance with ice coring.
Discussions with R . Amon regarding DOM were
invaluable .
* Corresponding
author . Mailing address: Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar und
Meeresforschung, Am Handelshafen 12, D-27570 Bremerhaven, Germany.
Phone: 49 471 4831 1460 . Fax: 49 471 4831 1425 . E-mail:
ehelmke{at}awi-bremerhaven.de .
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