Metagenomic analysis of an unexpected community of widely distributed Rhizobiales in Arctic frost flowers

摘要: In April, 2010 we sampled 4 pairs of frost flower and young ice samples from a lead o shore of Barrow, Alaska. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene using clone library sequencing, T-RFLP, and microarray analysis suggested that the frost flowers, in contrast to the underlying young ice, were dominated by Bacteria belonging to the order Rhizobiales (Bowman et al., in press)(Fig. 2). Although this order can be found in the existing deep sequencing studies of the polar marine environment (Fig. 3), it has not been the focus of any previous polar marine study.Based on the unexpected nature of these findings we selected one frost flower and one young ice sample for metagenomic sequencing. This e ort will allow us to develop hypotheses on the ecological implications of Rhizobiales in the young sea ice environment, and will aid in bringing these strains into culture if a second occurrence is observed.