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NifH gene diversity and expression in a microbial mat community on the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2009

Anne D. Jungblut  and
Brett A. Neilan
Anne D. Jungblut
Affiliation:
School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences and The Australian Centre for Astrobiology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
Brett A. Neilan*
Affiliation:
School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences and The Australian Centre for Astrobiology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
*
*[email protected]
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Abstract

N2-fixation is an important mechanism in microbial mats of the McMurdo Ice Shelf as nitrogen sources are limited. Here we applied molecular analyses of the N2-fixing diversity in cyanobacterial dominated microbial mats in a meltwater pond, known as Orange Pond, on the McMurdo Ice Shelf. Phylogenetic analyses of nifH genes and nifH gene transcripts were performed in association with acetylene reduction assay measurements. Eighteen phylotypes with the highest similarities to cyanobacteria, firmicutes, beta-, gamma- and deltaproteobacteria, spirochaetes and verrumicrobia were identified. All cyanobacterial nifH phylotypes grouped solely in the genus Nostoc spp. Clone-library analysis of nifH gene transcripts only identified sequences with a highest match to Nostoc spp. and acetylene reduction activity was identified in the presence of light and absence of 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethyl urea. These molecular results indicate that a variety of bacterial phyla possess the ability to fix nitrogen. However, under the tested conditions the only organisms actively transcribing nifH genes were Nostoc spp. This underlines the importance of Nostoc for the nitrogen budget on the McMurdo Ice Shelf.

Keywords

cyanobacteriadinitrogen reductasemeltwater pondNostoc
Type
Biological Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 22 , Issue 2 , April 2010 , pp. 117 - 122
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2009

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