Form Follows Function

Natural history. Teaching. Writing. All have form, all have function. But just as no architecture is risk-free, no architecture is neutral. In this personal essay, I explore the surprising connections that develop when university students engage with natural history as way of knowing the ground underfoot

Geomicrobiological heterogeneity of lithic habitats in the extreme environment of Antarctic nunataks: a potential early Mars analog

Nunataks are permanent ice-free rocky peaks that project above ice caps in polar regions, thus being exposed to extreme climatic conditions throughout the year. They undergo extremely low temperatures and scarcity of liquid water in winter, while receiving high incident and reflected (albedo) UVA-B radiation in summer. Here, we investigate the geomicrobiology of the permanently exposed lithic substrates of nunataks from Livingston Island (South Shetlands, Antarctic Peninsula), with focus on prokaryotic community structure and their main metabolic traits. Contrarily to first hypothesis, an extensive sampling based on different gradients and multianalytical approaches demonstrated significant differences for most geomicrobiological parameters between the bedrock, soil, and loose rock substrates, which overlapped any other regional variation. Brevibacillus genus dominated on bedrock and soil substrates, while loose rocks contained a diverse microbial community, including Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria and abundant Cyanobacteria inhabiting the milder and diverse microhabitats within. Archaea, a domain never described before in similar Antarctic environments, were also consistently found in the three substrates, but being more abundant and potentially more active in soils. Stable isotopic ratios of total carbon (δ 13C) and nitrogen (δ 15N), soluble anions concentrations, and the detection of proteins involved in key metabolisms via the Life Detector Chip (LDChip), suggest that microbial primary production has a pivotal role in nutrient cycling at these exposed areas with limited deposition of nutrients. Detection of stress-resistance proteins, such as molecular chaperons, suggests microbial molecular adaptation mechanisms to cope with these harsh conditions. Since early Mars may have encompassed analogous environmental conditions as the ones found in these Antarctic nunataks, our study also contributes to the understanding of the metabolic features and biomarker profiles of a potential Martian microbiota, as well as the use of LDChip in future life detection missions.This project has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN)/European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) project no. RTI2018-094368-B-I00; the European Research Council Consolidator grant no. 818602; and the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI) project no. MDM-2017-0737, Unidad de Excelencia “María de Maeztu” to Centro de Astrobiología

Protection of Antarctic microbial communities - 'out of sight, out of mind'

Recent advances in molecular biology techniques have shown the presence of diverse microbial communities and endemic species in Antarctica. Endemic microbes may be a potential source of novel biotechnologically important compounds, including, for example, new antibiotics. Thus, the scientific and biotechnological value of Antarctic terrestrial microbial habitats can be compromised by human visitation to a greater extent than previously realized. The ever-increasing human footprint in Antarctica makes consideration of this topic more pressing, as the number of locations known to be pristine habitats, where increasingly sophisticated cutting-edge research techniques may be used to their full potential, declines. Examination of the Protected Areas system of the Antarctic Treaty shows that microbial habitats are generally poorly protected. No other continent on Earth is dominated to the same degree by microbial species, and real opportunities exist to develop new ways of conceptualising and implementing conservation of microbial biogeography on a continental scale. Here we highlight potential threats both to the conservation of terrestrial microbial ecosystems, and to future scientific research requiring their study

Cold-adapted Microorganisms

Isao Yumoto (ed.)Publisher: Caister Academic Press, 2013. ISBN: 978-1-908230-26-3, 226 pages