UDC 551. 444.6:579.26(498) Alexandra Hillebrand, Corina Itcus, Ioan Ardelean, Denisa Pascu, Aurel Perşoiu, Andreea Rusu, Traian Brad, Elena Popa, Bogdan P. Onac & Cristina Purcarea: Searching for cold-adapted microorganisms in the underground glacier of Scarisoara Ice Cave, RomaniaScarisoara Ice Cave (Romania) hosts one of world's largest and oldest underground glacier. While no studies were carried out on the existence of microorganisms in this cave's ice block, our interest is to investigate the presence of microorganisms and their chronological distribution in the cave's subterranean ice in relationship with past climatic changes. Samples were collected from ice layers of different age (from present to ~900 cal. yrs. BP), and the diversity of embedded microbial communities was assessed by classical cultivation and molecular techniques. The microorganisms from icesediments were cultivated at 4 °C and 15 °C, in the presence and absence of light. Epifluorescence microscopy analysis indicates the presence of autotrophic prokaryotes and eukaryotes in sunlightexposed ice and water samples. Total DNA was isolated from each ice sample and the bacterial and eukaryotic SSU-rRNA genes were amplified by PCR. The chemical composition and organic content of both deeply buried (>10 m inside the ice block) and surface (supra-glacial pond water) habitats were analyzed in relation to their age and organic composition. This study is the first to report on the presence of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms in the subterranean ice block of Scarisoara Ice Cave, thriving in both organic-rich ice and clear ice layers. Phototrophic prokaryotes and eukaryotes were identified in sun-exposed recent ice. The compo- študija obravnava pojavnost in časovno porazdelitev mikroorganizmov v jamskem ledu v Ledeni jami Scarisoara (Romunija), v kateri je eden največjih in najstarejših jamskih ledenikov. Pojavnost mikroorganizmov nas zanima predvsem v povezavi s preteklimi klimatskimi spremembami. Vzorčili smo v različnih plasteh ledu, starih od 900 let do recentnih in v njih določevali združbe mikroorganizmov z klasičnim gojenjem in z molekularnimi metodami. Mikroorganizme iz lednih sedimentov smo v temi in na svetlobi gojili na temperaturah 5 °C in 15 °C. Epifluorescentna mikroskopija je pokazala prisotnost avtotrofnih prokariontov in evkariontov v vzorcih ledu in vode, ki so bili izpostavljeni sončnemu obsevanju. Iz ledu smo izolirali celotno DNK ter bakterijske in evkariont ske gene male ribosomske podenote (SSU-rRNA) namnožili s poli merazno verižno reakcijo (PCR). Kemično sestavo in organ ski delež globoko pokopanih (več kot 10 m globoko v ledu) in površinskih (vodni bazen na površini ledu) habitatov smo povezali z njihovo starostjo in organsko sestavo. študija prva poroča o prokariontskih in evkariontskih mikroorganizmih v podzemnem ledu jame Scarisoara, ki uspevajo tako v organsko bogatih plasteh ledu kot v prosojnem ledu. V ledu, izpostavljenem sončni svetlobi, smo odkrili prisotnost fototrofnih prokariontov in evkar...

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