The hidden microbial ecosystem in the perennial ice from a Pyrenean ice cave

Over the last years, perennial ice deposits located within caves have awakened interest as places to study microbial communities since they represent unique cryospheric archives of climate change. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the temperature has gradually increased, and it is estima...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Ruiz-Blas, Fátima, Muñoz-Hisado, Víctor, García-López, Eva, Moreno Caballud, Ana, Bartolomé, Miguel, Leunda Esnaola, María, Martinez-Alonso, Emma, Alcázar, Alberto, Cid, Cristina
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/345373
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/345373
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Ice cave
Pyrenees
Global warming
Microbial community profiling
Next-generation sequencing
Environmental variables
Proteomics
Descripción
Sumario:Over the last years, perennial ice deposits located within caves have awakened interest as places to study microbial communities since they represent unique cryospheric archives of climate change. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the temperature has gradually increased, and it is estimated that by the end of this century the increase in average temperature could be around 4.0°C. In this context of global warming the ice deposits of the Pyrenean caves are undergoing a significant regression. Among this type of caves, that on the Cotiella Massif in the Southern Pyrenees is one of the southernmost studied in Europe. These types of caves house microbial communities which have so far been barely explored, and therefore their study is necessary. In this work, the microbial communities of the Pyrenean ice cave A294 were identified using metabarcoding techniques. In addition, research work was carried out to analyze how the age and composition of the ice affect the composition of the bacterial and microeukaryotic populations. Finally, the in vivo effect of climate change on the cellular machinery that allow microorganisms to live with increasing temperatures has been studied using proteomic techniques.