Three 16S rRNA gene clone libraries (P1L, P4L and P8L) were constructed using three soil samples (P1S, P4S and P8S) collected near Pindari glacier, Himalayas. The three libraries yielded a total of 703 clones. Actinobacteria, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were common to the three libraries. In addition to the above P1L and P8L shared the phyla Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Gemmatimonadetes and Planctomycetes. Phyla Chlamydiae, Chlorobi, Chloroflexi, Dictyoglomi, Fibrobacteres, Nitrospirae, Verrucomicrobia, candidate division SPAM and candidate TM7s TM7a phylum were present only in P1L. Rarefaction analysis indicated that the bacterial diversity in P4S and P8S soil samples was representative of the sample. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that P1S and P8S were different from P4S soil sample. PCA also indicated that arsenic content, pH, Cr and altitude influence the observed differences in the percentage of specific OTUs in the three 16S rRNA gene clone libraries. The observed bacterial diversity was similar to that observed for other Himalayan and non-polar cold habitats. A total of 40 strains of bacteria were isolated from the above three soil samples and based on the morphology 20 bacterial strains were selected for further characterization. The 20 bacteria belonged to 12 different genera. All the isolates were psychro-, halo- and alkalitolerant. Amylase and urease activities were detected in majority of the strains but lipase and protease activities were not detected. Long chain, saturated, unsaturated and branched fatty acids were predominant in the psychrotolerant bacteria.

The bacterial diversity of two soil samples collected from the periphery of the Roopkund glacial lake and one soil sample from the surface of the Roopkund Glacier in the Himalayan ranges was determined by constructing three 16S rRNA gene clone libraries. The three clone libraries yielded a total of 798 clones belonging to 25 classes. Actinobacteria was the most predominant class (>10% of the clones) in the three libraries. In the library from the glacial soil, class Betaproteobacteria (24.2%) was the most predominant. The rarefaction analysis indicated coverage of 43.4 and 41.2% in the samples collected from the periphery of the lake thus indicating a limited bacterial diversity covered; at the same time, the coverage of 98.4% in the glacier sample indicated most of the diversity was covered. Further, the bacterial diversity in the Roopkund glacier soil was low, but was comparable with the bacterial diversity of a few other glaciers. The results of principal component analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene clone library data, percentages of OTUs and biogeochemical data revealed that the lake soil samples were different from the glacier soil sample and the biogeochemical properties affected the diversity of microbial communities in the soil samples.

Culturable bacterial diversity of seven marine sediment samples of Kongsfjorden and a sediment and a soil sample from Ny-Alesund, Svalbard, Arctic was studied. The bacterial abundance in the marine sediments of Kongsfjorden varied marginally (0.5 x 10(3)-1.3 x 10(4) cfu/g sediment) and the bacterial number in the two samples collected from the shore of Ny-Alesund also was very similar (0.6 x 10(4) and 3.4 x 10(4), respectively). From the nine samples a total of 103 bacterial isolates were obtained and these isolates could be grouped in to 47 phylotypes based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence belonging to 4 phyla namely Actinobacteria, Bacilli, Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria. Representatives of the 47 phylotypes varied in their growth temperature range (4-37 degrees C), in their tolerance to NaCl (0.3-2 M NaCl) and growth pH range (2-11). Representatives of 26 phylotypes exhibited amylase and lipase activity either at 5 or 20 degrees C or at both the temperatures. A few of the representatives exhibited amylase and/or lipase activity only at 5 degrees C. None of the phylotypes exhibited protease activity. Most of the phylotypes (38) were pigmented. Fatty acid profile studies indicated that short chain fatty acids, unsaturated fatty acids, branched fatty acids, the cyclic and the cis fatty acids are predominant in the psychrophilic bacteria.

Two 16S rRNA gene clone libraries (KF and KS) were constructed using two soil samples (K7s and K8s) collected near Kafni Glacier, Himalayas. The two libraries yielded a total of 648 clones. Phyla Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Spirochaetae, Tenericutes and Verrucomicrobia were common to the two libraries. Phyla Acidobacteria, Chlamydiae and Nitrospirae were present only in KF library, whereas Lentisphaerae and TM7 were detected only in KS. In the two libraries, clones belonging to phyla Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria were the most predominant. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that KF and KS were different and arsenic content influenced the differences in the percentage of OTUs. PCA indicated that high water content in the K8s sample results in high total bacterial count. PCA also indicated that bacterial diversity of KF and KS was similar to soils from the Pindari Glacier, Himalayas; Samoylov Island, Siberia; Schrimacher Oasis, Antarctica and Siberian tundra. The eleven bacterial strains isolated from the above two soil samples were phylogenetically related to six different genera. All the isolates were psychro-, halo- and alkalitolerant. Amylase, lipase and urease activities were detected in the majority of the strains. Long chain, saturated, unsaturated and branched fatty acids were predominant in the psychrotolerant bacteria.

In the course of a study aimed at isolating bacteria from Arctic soils by a method that selectively enriches for rare bioactive actinomycetes, a Gram-stain-negative, pigmented, non-motile rod, designated MN12-7 T , was isolated. The salmon-pink strain was, based on 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, found to be affiliated with the family Sphingobacteriaceae. Strain MN12-7 T was catalase-, oxidase-and cellulase-positive and lacked gelatinase, urease, lipase and pectinase. The predominant cellular fatty acids were summed feature 3 (comprising C 16 : 1 v7c and/or C 16 : 1 v6c), iso-C 15 : 0 and C 15 : 1 v6c. The major respiratory quinone of strain MN12-7 T was MK-7, and the major polar lipid was phosphatidylethanolamine in addition to phosphatidylserine, seven unidentified lipids and six unidentified aminolipids. The DNA G+C content of strain MN12-7 T was 38 mol%. Strain MN12-7 T formed a separate lineage in a cluster containing 'Candidatus comitans', with which it shared 92.3 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity. Based on the phenotypic characteristics and phylogenetic inference, strain MN12-7 T is proposed as a representative of a novel species in a new genus, Arcticibacter svalbardensis gen. nov., sp. nov. The type strain of the type species is MN12-7 T (5KCTC 32015 T 5CIP 110422 T ).