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Microbiology of Subglacial Environments

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Psychrophiles: From Biodiversity to Biotechnology

Abstract

The abundance of water at the base of glaciers and polar ice sheets forms lacustrine features and habitats in the saturated sediments of subglacial hydrological systems. Nutrients and energy sources may be made available through mineralization of stored organic matter or through glacial processes (e.g., bedrock comminution) that provide redox couples for microbial life. The logistical challenges of accessing subglacial environments has limited direct observations to a small number of locations, but microorganisms and associated microbial activities have been found in all subglacial environments examined to date (i.e., basal ice and sediment cores, subglacial lakes, and subglacial outflows at glacial margins). Molecular and biogeochemical data imply that the microbial clades common in subglacial environments are utilizing reduced iron, sulfur, and nitrogen compounds as energy sources to fuel primary production at the glacial bed. Here, we review the latest information on the diversity of subglacial environments and discuss how interactions between physical and biogeochemical processes affect microbial ecosystems and processes at the glacier bed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, 202 Life Sciences Building, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA

    Amanda M. Achberger

  2. Department of Bioscience, Center for Geomicrobiology, Aarhus University, 8000, Aarhus C Aarhus, Denmark

    Alexander B. Michaud

  3. Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Quèbec à Montrèal, C.P. 8888 succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, QC, Canada, H3C 3P8

    Trista J. Vick-Majors

  4. Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, Biodiversity Institute, University of Florida, 1355 Museum Drive, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Brent C. Christner

  5. Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University, 200 Traphagen Hall, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA

    Mark L. Skidmore

  6. Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, Montana State University, 334 Leon Johnson Hall, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA

    John C. Priscu

  7. Bristol Glaciology Centre, School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1SS, UK

    Martyn Tranter

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  1. Amanda M. Achberger
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  2. Alexander B. Michaud
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  3. Trista J. Vick-Majors
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  4. Brent C. Christner
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  5. Mark L. Skidmore
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  6. John C. Priscu
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  7. Martyn Tranter
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Brent C. Christner .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Microbiology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria

    Rosa Margesin

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Achberger, A.M. et al. (2017). Microbiology of Subglacial Environments. In: Margesin, R. (eds) Psychrophiles: From Biodiversity to Biotechnology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57057-0_5

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