Molecular and Cultivation-based Characterization of Ancient Algal Mats from the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica
Year: 2009
Type: article
Abstract: The McMurdo Dry Valleys, an Antarctic cold desert, offer the opportunity to study the preservation of biological materials during long-term desiccation.Because the cold and dry climate of the Dry Valleys favors molecular preservation, and because some Antarctic microbes possess adaptations that confer tolerance to desiccation, microbial biomolecules have the potential to persist over millennia in the Dry Valleys, although this possibility has not been investigated.In this study, I examined patterns of bacterial DNA preservation in modern to ancient (8 -26,539 years old) algal mats from the Dry Valleys.Additionally, the efficacy of DNA repair by a commercially-available kit was studied.Observed patterns of DNA preservation were consistent with expectations for ancient materials.The composition of bacterial 16S rRNA gene clone libraries revealed potential differences in the preservation of DNA from different taxa: Firmicutes were abundant in ancient samples, but Cyanobacteria were absent.My results indicate that bacterial DNA may be preserved for several millennia in the Dry Valleys.The preservation of DNA has implications for the evolution of microbes in the Dry Valleys, as ancient materials could serve as a legacy source of genetic diversity to modern ecosystems.
Author: Doug E. Antibus
Institution: Kent State University
Language: English
Topic: Polar Research and Ecology
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2241750216