Detection and Characterization of Ancient Fungi Entrapped in Glacial Ice

Ma, Li; Rogers, Scott O.; Catranis, Catharine M.; Starmer, William T.

doi:10.2307/3761562

Cited by 66 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Fungi are able to survive harsh environmental conditions, and viable forms have been found in deserts, hot biomass burning plumes, hailstones, subglacial ice of Arctic glaciers, glacial melt water, soils of snowcapped tundra, and deep sea sediments (Novozhilova and Popova, 1969;Mandrioli et al, 1973;Ma et al, 2000;Schadt et al, 2003;Boreson et al, 2004;Hasnain et al, 2004;Mims and Mims, 2004;Butinar et al, 2007;de Garcia et al, 2007).…”

Section: Fungal Species and Discharge Of Fungal Sporesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contribution of fungi to primary biogenic aerosols in the atmosphere: wet and dry discharged spores, carbohydrates, and inorganic ions

et al. 2007

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Biogenic aerosols play important roles in atmospheric chemistry physics, the biosphere, climate, and public health. Here, we show that fungi which actively discharge their spores with liquids into the air, in particular actively wet spore discharging Ascomycota (AAM) and actively wet spore discharging Basidiomycota (ABM), are a major source of primary biogenic aerosol particles and components. We present the first estimates for the global average emission rates of fungal spores.Measurement results and budget calculations based on investigations in Amazonia (Balbina, Brazil, July 2001) indicate that the spores of AAM and ABM may account for a large proportion of coarse particulate matter in tropical rainforest regions during the wet season (0.7-2.3 µg m −3 ). For the particle diameter range of 1-10 µm, the estimated proportions are ∼25% during day-time, ∼45% at night, and ∼35% on average. For the sugar alcohol mannitol, the budget calculations indicate that it is suitable for use as a molecular tracer for actively wet discharged basidiospores (ABS). ABM emissions seem to account for most of the atmospheric abundance of mannitol (10-68 ng m −3 ), and can explain the observed diurnal cycle (higher abundance at night). ABM emissions of hexose carbohydrates might also account for a significant proportion of glucose and fructose in air particulate matter (7-49 ng m −3 ), but the literature-derived ratios are not consistent with the observed diurnal cycle (lower abundance at night). AAM emissions appear to account for a large proportion of potassium in air particulate matter over tropical rainforest regions during the wet season (17-43 ng m −3 ), and they can also explain the observed diurnal cycle (higher abundance at night). The results of our investigations and budget calculations for tropical rainforCorrespondence to: W. Elbert (elbert@mpch-mainz.mpg.de) est aerosols are consistent with measurements performed at other locations.Based on the average abundance of mannitol reported for extratropical continental boundary layer air (∼25 ng m −3 ), we have also calculated a value of ∼17 Tg yr −1 as a first estimate for the global average emission rate of ABS over land surfaces, which is consistent with the typically observed concentrations of ABS (∼10 3 -10 4 m −3 ; ∼0.1-1 µg m −3 ). The global average atmospheric abundance and emission rate of total fungal spores, including wet and dry discharged species, are estimated to be higher by a factor of about three, i.e. ∼1 µg m −3 and ∼50 Tg yr −1 . Comparisons with estimated rates of emission and formation of other major types of organic aerosol (∼47 Tg yr −1 of anthropogenic primary organic aerosol; 12-70 Tg yr −1 of secondary organic aerosol) indicate that emissions from fungi should be taken into account as a significant global source of organic aerosol. The effects of fungal spores and related chemical components might be particularly important in tropical regions, where both physicochemical processes in the atmosphere and biological activity at the Earth's sur...

show abstract

Section: Fungal Species and Discharge Of Fungal Sporesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contribution of fungi to primary biogenic aerosols in the atmosphere: wet and dry discharged spores, carbohydrates, and inorganic ions

et al. 2007

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…T here is now both direct and indirect evidence that microorganisms live inside glacial and sea ice and permafrost at temperatures well below the freezing point of pure water (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11). The thermodynamic stability of ion-rich liquid veins at triple grain-boundaries in polycrystalline ice (12) and of thin films of unfrozen water on microbial surfaces in permafrost (13,14) enables transport of nutrients to and waste from them.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Temperature dependence of metabolic rates for microbial growth, maintenance, and survival

Price

Sowers

2004

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

694

527

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Our work was motivated by discoveries of prokaryotic communities that survive with little nutrient in ice and permafrost, with implications for past or present microbial life in Martian permafrost and Europan ice. We compared the temperature dependence of metabolic rates of microbial communities in permafrost, ice, snow, clouds, oceans, lakes, marine and freshwater sediments, and subsurface aquifer sediments. Metabolic rates per cell fall into three groupings: (i) a rate, g (T), for growth, measured in the laboratory at in situ temperatures with minimal disturbance of the medium; (ii) a rate, m(T), sufficient for maintenance of functions but for a nutrient level too low for growth; and (iii) a rate, s(T), for survival of communities imprisoned in deep glacial ice, subsurface sediment, or ocean sediment, in which they can repair macromolecular damage but are probably largely dormant. The three groups have metabolic rates consistent with a single activation energy of Ϸ110 kJ and that scale as g(T): m(T): s(T) Ϸ 10 6 :10 3 :1. There is no evidence of a minimum temperature for metabolism. The rate at ؊40°C in ice corresponds to Ϸ10 turnovers of cellular carbon per billion years. Microbes in ice and permafrost have metabolic rates similar to those in water, soil, and sediment at the same temperature. This finding supports the view that, far below the freezing point, liquid water inside ice and permafrost is available for metabolism. The rate s(T) for repairing molecular damage by means of DNA-repair enzymes and proteinrepair enzymes such as methyltransferase is found to be comparable to the rate of spontaneous molecular damage.T here is now both direct and indirect evidence that microorganisms live inside glacial and sea ice and permafrost at temperatures well below the freezing point of pure water (1-11). The thermodynamic stability of ion-rich liquid veins at triple grain-boundaries in polycrystalline ice (12) and of thin films of unfrozen water on microbial surfaces in permafrost (13,14) enables transport of nutrients to and waste from them. Certain impurities such as mineral acids or salts can reduce the freezing point of water in narrow intergranular veins to as low as Ϫ90°C. Acidophilic psychrophiles in a Greenland mine (15) survive the cold winters at Ϫ30°C, probably by taking advantage of such a habitat. It has been conjectured that microbial life may have arisen under similar conditions in subsurface Martian permafrost or in warm diapirs in Europa's ice.After some brief remarks about metabolism in a natural microbial community, we cite several examples of microbes in ice or permafrost at subfreezing temperatures that we cannot analyze quantitatively, either because information on both microbial concentration and metabolic rate in the same locations was not provided or because only isolates in pure cultures were studied. We then discuss methods and present quantitative data from the literature and from our unpublished work that enable us to calculate metabolic rates per cell. We display the results in Fig. 1 ...

show abstract

“…Approximately 2,000 meltwater aliquots (200 l each) were spread on agar plates containing 13 different media and were incubated for weeks to months at four temperatures (4,8,15, and 22°C). Portions of the rRNA loci were amplified by PCR (as in reference 12, with primers described in reference 11) and sequenced, followed by BLAST searches, CLUSTAL alignment, and phylogenetic analysis (as in reference 8).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Isolation of Microbes from Lake Vostok Accretion Ice

D’Elia

Veerapaneni

Rogers

2008

Appl Environ Microbiol

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Bacteria from seven Lake Vostok accretion and two deep glacial Vostok ice core sections were characterized. The cell concentrations were low, but many of the cells were viable. From the hundreds of cultures, 18 unique bacterial rRNA gene phylotypes were determined. Lake Vostok may contain a complex microbial ecosystem.Subglacial Lake Vostok, the eighth largest lake on Earth (area ϭ 14,000 km 2 , volume ϭ 5,600 km 3 ) (9, 16), is covered by a 4-kilometer-thick layer of glacial ice. As the glacier traverses the lake over a period of 18,000 years, ice freezes (or accretes) to the bottom surface of the glacier, eventually forming a 200-m layer of accretion ice that has retained a linear and temporal record of the contents of the upper surface of the lake. The glacier passes over a shallow embayment, near an island (or peninsula), and then over part of the main lake basin. As the glacier passes through the embayment, initially it is grounded on the lakebed, and partly because of this, it collects mineral inclusions, making the ice silty (termed type I accretion ice) (13). Melting and freezing in this area, as well as a possible influx of material from a river system and/or from hydrothermal activity, may contribute to the characteristics of the type I ice (3, 14). The glacier is suspended over open water in portions of the embayment and over most of the main parts of the lake. The ice that forms over open water contains far fewer inclusions and lower concentrations of ions, organic carbon, and biomass (6,10,14). This ice is very clear ice and has been termed type II accretion ice (13). The top section (from 3,538 to 3,595 m), which accreted within and near the embayment, primarily consists of type I ice, although there are some regions of type II ice (2). Bacteria from this ice, including potentially psychrophilic and psychrotolerant species as well as the molecular signature of a thermophilic bacterium, have been reported (1,3,4,5,7,10). Within the lake, temperatures average Ϫ2°C, pressures approach 400 atmospheres, high oxygen levels exist, there are low nutrient levels, and it is completely dark.We isolated and characterized microbes from Lake Vostok type I and II accretion ice from the embayment and the main basin as well as from glacial ice immediately above the accretion ice layers. Sequence results from the rRNA small subunit genes and internal transcribed spacers indicate that at least 18 species are represented in the accretion ice. All are psychrotolerant in that they grew at 4°C, although optimal growth was often at higher temperatures.Descriptions and cell concentrations. Nine Vostok 5G ice core sections were assayed. Five sections represented ice that accreted over the shallow embayment (depths of 3,540, 3,563, 3,582, and 3,584 m, all type I ice, and 3,591 m, type II ice) (2) approximately 3,800 to 5,100 years ago (2,6,13,14), two accreted 3,400 to 3,500 years ago over the main lake basin (3,606 m, type I ice, and 3,610 m, type II ice), and two were glacial ice cores near the bottom of the glacier (3,5...

show abstract

Detection and Characterization of Ancient Fungi Entrapped in Glacial Ice

Cited by 66 publications

References 0 publications

Contribution of fungi to primary biogenic aerosols in the atmosphere: wet and dry discharged spores, carbohydrates, and inorganic ions

Contribution of fungi to primary biogenic aerosols in the atmosphere: wet and dry discharged spores, carbohydrates, and inorganic ions

Temperature dependence of metabolic rates for microbial growth, maintenance, and survival

Isolation of Microbes from Lake Vostok Accretion Ice

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About