Glacial Ice Age Shapes Microbiome Composition in a Receding Southern European Glacier.

ABSTRACT: Glaciers and their microbiomes are exceptional witnesses of the environmental conditions from remote times. Climate change is threatening mountain glaciers, and especially those found in southern Europe, such as the Monte Perdido Glacier (northern Spain, Central Pyrenees). This study focuses on the reconstruction of the history of microbial communities over time. The microorganisms that inhabit the Monte Perdido Glacier were identified using high-throughput sequencing, and the microbial communities were compared along an altitudinal transect covering most of the preserved ice sequence in the glacier. The results showed that the glacial ice age gradient did shape the diversity of microbial populations, which presented large differences throughout the last 2000 years. Variations in microbial

SUBMITTER: Garcia-Lopez E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8636055 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature