Distinct bacterial community structures with abundant carbon degradation and sulfur metabolisms found in different sea-ice types from the Central Arctic Ocean.

ABSTRACT: The rapid decline of sea ice in the relatively understudied Central Arctic Ocean has a significant impact on bacterial biodiversity and the ecological functions they support. We investigated the bacterial community composition and the associated metabolic functions from three geographically distinct sea-ice floes: first-year ice (FYI) at the North Pole and western Nansen Basin and second-year or multi-year ice (SYI/MYI) in the western Amundsen Basin. We resolved the sea-ice bacterial community diversity at species-level precision using a long-read amplicon (n = 18) and metagenomic (n = 3) sequencing approach. The amplicon sequencing highlighted marked differences in bacterial community structure driven by ice age, floe origin, and environmental factors, demonstrating pronounc

SUBMITTER: Venkatachalam S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12584769 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature