Metagenomic Analysis of Bacterial Communities of Antarctic Surface Snow.

The diversity of bacteria present in surface snow around four Russian stations in Eastern Antarctica was studied by high throughput sequencing of amplified 16S rRNA gene fragments and shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Considerable class- and genus-level variation between the samples was revealed indicating a presence of inter-site diversity of bacteria in Antarctic snow. Flavobacterium was a major genus in one sampling site and was also detected in other sites.

[Microbial communities in regions of arctic settlements].

The composition and the structure of microbial communities in areas of Arctic settlements were studied. The main attention has been given to microscopic fungi. As result of observation of 5 Arctic regions 117 species of microscopic fungi are revealed in soils and anthropogenic substrates.

[Mycobiota of soil and anthropogenic substrates of the Yamal Peninsula].

There are presented results of mycological examination of samples of soil and anthropogenic substrates, collected on the Yamal Peninsula. 40 species of micromycetes have been identified. The obtained results indicate to the qualitative difference in the complexes of micromycetes from soil and anthropogenic substrates in the examined area.

[Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons content in Antarctica soils as exemplified by the Russian polar stations].

The comprehensive study of the qualitative and quantitative composition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soils of Antarctica (reference landscapes--mountains Hudson, Haswell Archipelago contaminated soil--Mirny, Druznaya-4, Bellingshausen--and imported soils) was performed with the use of HPLC in a gradient mode. A characteristic feature of the studied PAHs content of soils is the predominance of low-molecular polyarenes in them. Due to anthropogenic pollution the quantitative accumulation of both light and heavy PAHs occurs under the qualitative increase in the proportion of heavy polyarenes.

Activity and bacterial diversity of snow around Russian Antarctic stations.

The diversity and temporal dynamics of bacterial communities in pristine snow around two Russian Antarctic stations was investigated. Taxonomic analysis of rDNA libraries revealed that snow communities were dominated by bacteria from a small number of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) that underwent dramatic swings in abundance between the 54th (2008-2009) and 55th (2009-2010) Russian Antarctic expeditions. Moreover, analysis of the 55th expedition samples indicated that there was very little, if any, correspondence in abundance of clones belonging to the same OTU present in rDNA and rRNA libraries.