  Structuring effects of climate-related environmental factors on Antarctic microbial mat communities; ; et al in Aquatic Microbial Ecology (2010), 59 Both ground-based and satellite data show that parts of Antarctica have entered a period of rapid climate change, which already affects the functioning and productivity of limnetic ecosystems. To predict ... [more ▼] Both ground-based and satellite data show that parts of Antarctica have entered a period of rapid climate change, which already affects the functioning and productivity of limnetic ecosystems. To predict the consequences of future climate anomalies for lacustrine microbial communities, we not only need better baseline information on their biodiversity but also on the climaterelated environmental factors structuring these communities. Here we applied denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of the small subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA) to assess the genetic composition and distribution of Cyanobacteria and eukaryotes in 37 benthic microbial mat samples from east Antarctic lakes. The lakes were selected to span a wide range of environmental gradients governed by differences in lake morphology and chemical limnology across 5 ice-free oases. Sequence analysis of selected DGGE bands revealed a high degree of potential endemism among the Cyanobacteria (mainly represented by Oscillatoriales and Nostocales), and the presence of a variety of protists (alveolates, stramenopiles and green algae), fungi, tardigrades and nematodes, which corroborates previous microscopy-based observations. Variation partitioning analyses revealed that the microbial mat community structure is largely regulated by both geographical and local environmental factors of which salinity (and related variables), lake water depth and nutrient concentrations are of major importance. These 3 groups of environmental variables have previously been shown to change drastically in Antarctica in response to climate change. Together, these results have obvious consequences for predicting the trajectory of biodiversity under changing climate conditions and call for the continued assessment of the biodiversity of these unique ecosystems. [less ▲] Detailed reference viewed: 129 (12 ULg) Covariation between zooplankton community composition and cyanobacterial community dynamics in Lake Blaarmeersen (Belgium); ; et al in FEMS Microbiology Ecology (2008), 63 The cyanobacterial community composition in the mesotrophic Lake Blaarmeersen was determined by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of PCRamplified 16S rRNA gene fragments during two ... [more ▼] The cyanobacterial community composition in the mesotrophic Lake Blaarmeersen was determined by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of PCRamplified 16S rRNA gene fragments during two consecutive years to assess the importance of different classes of explanatory variables (bottom-up and top-down factors, physical variables and phytoplankton) in cyanobacterial community dynamics. The most dominant cyanobacteria in Lake Blaarmeersen were Synechococcus (three genotypes), Limnothrix redekei and Anabaena/Aphanizomenon. Analyses of Similarity revealed that the cyanobacterial community in Lake Blaarmeersen differed significantly between the growing season and the winter season as well as between the epilimnion and hypolimnion during the stratified periods. Mantel tests revealed significant correlations between the DGGE data and bottom-up factors, physical variables, the phytoplankton community composition and, interestingly, the zooplankton community composition. In general, the zooplankton community composition (especially the cladoceran community) was more important in structuring the cyanobacterial community than the total zooplankton biomass. This study shows that grazing zooplankton communities can have a relatively strong impact on the cyanobacterial community dynamics and that this impact can be equally important as bottom-up processes regulated by nutrient concentrations and/or physical variables. [less ▲] Detailed reference viewed: 31 (1 ULg) |
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