Diversity and expression of RubisCO genes in a perennially ice-covered Antarctic lake during the polar night transition.

ABSTRACT: The autotrophic communities in the lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, have generated interest since the early 1960s owing to low light transmission through the permanent ice covers, a strongly bimodal seasonal light cycle, constant cold water temperatures, and geographical isolation. Previous work has shown that autotrophic carbon fixation in these lakes provides an important source of organic matter to this polar desert. Lake Bonney has two lobes separated by a shallow sill and is one of several chemically stratified lakes in the dry valleys that support year-round biological activity. As part of an International Polar Year initiative, we monitored the diversity and abundance of major isoforms of RubisCO in Lake Bonney by using a combined sequencing and quantitative PCR approac

SUBMITTER: Kong W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3370527 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature