Evidence of concurrent local adaptation and high phenotypic plasticity in a polar microeukaryote.

Here we investigated whether there is evidence of local adaptation in strains of an ancestrally marine dinoflagellate to the lacustrine environment they now inhabit (optimal genotypes) and/or if they have evolved phenotypic plasticity (a range of phenotypes). Eleven strains of Polarella glacialis were isolated and cultured from three different environments: the polar seas, a hyposaline and a hypersaline Antarctic lake. Local adaptation was tested by comparing growth rates of lacustrine and marine strains at their own and reciprocal site conditions.

Microbial dynamics and flagellate grazing during transition to winter in Lakes Hoare and Bonney, Antarctica.

The planktonic microbial communities of Lakes Hoare and Bonney were investigated during transition into winter. We hypothesized that the onset of darkness induces changes in the functional role of autotrophic and heterotrophic microplankton. Bacteria decreased in Lake Hoare during March-April, while in Lake Bonney bacterial abundances varied.

Glaciers and ice sheets as a biome.

The tundra is the coldest biome described in typical geography and biology textbooks. Within the cryosphere, there are large expanses of ice in the Antarctic, Arctic and alpine regions that are not regarded as being part of any biome. During the summer, there is significant melt on the surface of glaciers, ice caps and ice shelves, at which point microbial communities become active and play an important role in the cycling of carbon and other elements within the cryosphere.

When a habitat freezes solid: microorganisms over-winter within the ice column of a coastal Antarctic lake.

A major impediment to understanding the biology of microorganisms inhabiting Antarctic environments is the logistical constraint of conducting field work primarily during the summer season. However, organisms that persist throughout the year encounter severe environmental changes between seasons. In an attempt to bridge this gap, we collected ice core samples from Pony Lake in early November 2004 when the lake was frozen solid to its base, providing an archive for the biological and chemical processes that occurred during winter freezeup.

The filter-feeding ciliates Colpidium striatum and Tetrahymena pyriformis display selective feeding behaviours in the presence of mixed, equally-sized, bacterial prey.

This study examined whether two ciliates could discriminate between equally-sized bacterial prey in mixture and if so, how selectivity might benefit the ciliate population. Live Klebsiella aerogenes, K. ozaenae and Escherichia coli, expressing different coloured fluorescent proteins, were cultured in such a way as to provide populations containing equally-sized cells (to prevent size-selective grazing taking place) and these prey were fed to each ciliate in 50:50 mixtures.

MARINE-DERIVED DINOFLAGELLATES IN ANTARCTIC SALINE LAKES: COMMUNITY COMPOSITION AND ANNUAL DYNAMICS(1) *[link].

The saline lakes of the Vestfold Hills in Antarctica offer a remarkable natural laboratory where the adaptation of planktonic protists to a range of evolving physiochemical conditions can be investigated. This study illustrates how an ancestral marine community has undergone radical simplification leaving a small number of well-adapted species. Our objective was to investigate the species composition and annual dynamics of dinoflagellate communities in three saline Antarctic lakes.

Bacteriophage in polar inland waters.

Bacteriophages are found wherever microbial life is present and play a significant role in aquatic ecosystems. They mediate microbial abundance, production, respiration, diversity, genetic transfer, nutrient cycling and particle size distribution. Most studies of bacteriophage ecology have been undertaken at temperate latitudes.

A Ca2+-dependent bacterial antifreeze protein domain has a novel beta-helical ice-binding fold.

AFPs (antifreeze proteins) are produced by many organisms that inhabit ice-laden environments. They facilitate survival at sub-zero temperatures by binding to, and inhibiting, the growth of ice crystals in solution. The Antarctic bacterium Marinomonas primoryensis produces an exceptionally large(>1 MDa) hyperactive Ca2+-dependent AFP.

The biodiversity and ecology of Antarctic lakes: models for evolution.

Antarctic lakes are characterised by simplified, truncated food webs. The lakes range from freshwater to hypersaline with a continuum of physical and chemical conditions that offer a natural laboratory in which to study evolution. Molecular studies on Antarctic lake communities are still in their infancy, but there is clear evidence from some taxonomic groups, for example the Cyanobacteria, that there is endemicity.

Ultrasonic imaging of biofilms utilizing echoes from the biofilm/air interface.

Ultrasonic imaging of biofilms in water is difficult due to the very low contrast in acoustic impedance between the biofilm and water. In this paper, biofilms exposed to moist air are scanned through the substrate in order to obtain echoes from the biofilm/air interface. A 50 MHz scanning system was used to scan 1 mm x 1 mm areas of biofilms in a 10 microm grid pattern.

A hyperactive, Ca2+-dependent antifreeze protein in an Antarctic bacterium.

In cold climates, some plants and bacteria that cannot avoid freezing use antifreeze proteins (AFPs) to lessen the destructive effects of ice recrystallization. These AFPs have weak freezing point depression activity, perhaps to avoid sudden, uncontrolled growth of ice. Here, we report on an uncharacteristically powerful bacterial AFP found in an Antarctic strain of the bacterium, Marinomonas primoryensis.

Demonstration of antifreeze protein activity in Antarctic lake bacteria.

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) are a structurally diverse group of proteins that have the ability to modify ice crystal structure and inhibit recrystallization of ice. AFPs are well characterized in fish and insects, but very few bacterial species have been shown to have AFP activity to date. Thirty eight freshwater to hypersaline lakes in the Vestfold Hills and Larsemann Hills of Eastern Antarctica were sampled for AFPs during 2000.

Survival mechanisms in Antarctic lakes.

In Antarctic lakes, organisms are confronted by continuous low temperatures as well as a poor light climate and nutrient limitation. Such extreme environments support truncated food webs with no fish, few metazoans and a dominance of microbial plankton. The key to success lies in entering the short Antarctic summer with actively growing populations.