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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2003, p. 5157-5169, Vol. 69, No. 9
0099-2240/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.69.9.5157-5169.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Cyanobacterial Diversity in Natural and Artificial Microbial Mats of Lake Fryxell (McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica): a Morphological and Molecular Approach

Arnaud Taton,1,2 Stana Grubisic,2 Evelyne Brambilla,3 Rutger De Wit,4 and Annick Wilmotte2*

Laboratoire d'Algologie, de Mycologie et de Systématique Expérimentale, Institut de Botanique B22,1 Centre d'Ingénierie des Protéines, Institut de Chimie B6, Université de Liège, B-4000 Liège, Belgium,2 Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen GmbH, D-38124 Braunschweig, Germany,3 Laboratoire d'Océanographie Biologique, UMR 5805 CNRS and Université Bordeaux 1, F-33120 Arcachon, France4

Received 14 March 2003/ Accepted 9 June 2003

Currently, there is no consensus concerning the geographic distribution and extent of endemism in Antarctic cyanobacteria. In this paper we describe the phenotypic and genotypic diversity of cyanobacteria in a field microbial mat sample from Lake Fryxell and in an artificial cold-adapted sample cultured in a benthic gradient chamber (BGC) by using an inoculum from the same mat. Light microscopy and molecular tools, including 16S rRNA gene clone libraries, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, and sequencing, were used. For the first time in the study of cyanobacterial diversity of environmental samples, internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences were retrieved and analyzed to complement the information obtained from the 16S rRNA gene. Microscopy allowed eight morphotypes to be identified, only one of which is likely to be an Antarctic endemic morphotype. Molecular analysis, however, revealed an entirely different pattern. A much higher number of phylotypes (15 phylotypes) was found, but no sequences from Nodularia and Hydrocoryne, as observed by microscopy, were retrieved. The 16S rRNA gene sequences determined in this study were distributed in 11 phylogenetic lineages, 3 of which were exclusively Antarctic and 2 of which were novel. Collectively, these Antarctic sequences together with all the other polar sequences were distributed in 22 lineages, 9 of which were exclusively Antarctic, including the 2 novel lineages observed in this study. The cultured BGC mat had lower diversity than the field mat. However, the two samples shared three morphotypes and three phylotypes. Moreover, the BGC mat allowed enrichment of one additional phylotype. ITS sequence analysis revealed a complex signal that was difficult to interpret. Finally, this study provided evidence of molecular diversity of cyanobacteria in Antarctica that is much greater than the diversity currently known based on traditional microscopic analysis. Furthermore, Antarctic endemic species were more abundant than was estimated on the basis of morphological features. Decisive arguments concerning the global geographic distribution of cyanobacteria should therefore incorporate data obtained with the molecular tools described here.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Centre d'ingénierie des protéines, Institut de Chimie B6, Université de Liège, B-4000 Liège, Belgium. Phone: 32 4 366 38 56. Fax: 32 4 366 33 64. E-mail: awilmotte{at}ulg.ac.be.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2003, p. 5157-5169, Vol. 69, No. 9
0099-2240/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.69.9.5157-5169.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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