Cyanobacteria are important colonizers of recently deglaciated proglacial soil but an in-depth investigation of cyanobacterial succession following glacier retreat has not yet been carried out. Here, we report on the successional trajectories of cyanobacterial communities in biological soil crusts (BSCs) along a 100-year deglaciation gradient in three glacier forefields in central Svalbard, High Arctic. Distance from the glacier terminus was used as a proxy for soil age (years since deglaciation), and cyanobacterial abundance and community composition were evaluated by epifluorescence microscopy and pyrosequencing of partial 16S rRNA gene sequences, respectively. Succession was characterized by a decrease in phylotype richness and a marked shift in community structure, resulting in a clear separation between early (10-20 years since deglaciation), mid (30-50 years), and late (80-100 years) communities. Changes in cyanobacterial community structure were mainly connected with soil age and associated shifts in soil chemical composition (mainly moisture, SOC, SMN, K, and Na concentrations). Phylotypes associated with early communities were related either to potentially novel lineages (< 97.5% similar to sequences currently available in GenBank) or lineages predominantly restricted to polar and alpine biotopes, suggesting that the initial colonization of proglacial soil is accomplished by cyanobacteria transported from nearby glacial environments. Late communities, on the other hand, included more widely distributed genotypes, which appear to establish only after the microenvironment has been modified by the pioneering taxa.

• MeSH
• biodiverzita MeSH
• DNA bakterií MeSH
• fylogeneze * MeSH
• genotyp MeSH
• ledový příkrov mikrobiologie   MeSH
• půda chemie   MeSH
• půdní mikrobiologie * MeSH
• RNA ribozomální 16S genetika   MeSH
• sinice klasifikace   genetika   MeSH
• vysoce účinné nukleotidové sekvenování MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Arktida MeSH
• Svalbard MeSH

Current models predict increases in High Arctic temperatures and precipitation that will have profound impacts on the Arctic hydrological cycle, including enhanced glacial melt and thawing of active layer soils. However, it remains uncertain how these changes will impact the structure of downstream resident freshwater microbial communities and ensuing microbially driven freshwater ecosystem services. Using the Lake Hazen watershed (Nunavut, Canada; 82°N, 71°W) as a sentinel system, we related microbial community composition (16S rRNA gene sequencing) to physicochemical parameters (e.g. dissolved oxygen and nutrients) over an annual hydrological cycle in three freshwater compartments within the watershed: (i) glacial rivers; (ii) active layer thaw-fed streams and waterbodies and (iii) Lake Hazen, into which (i) and (ii) drain. Microbial communities throughout these freshwater compartments were strongly interconnected, hydrologically, and often correlated with the presence of melt-sourced chemicals (e.g. dissolved inorganic carbon) as the melt season progressed. Within Lake Hazen itself, water column microbial communities were generally stable over spring and summer, despite fluctuating lake physicochemistry, indicating that these communities and the potential ecosystem services they provide therein may be resilient to environmental change. This work helps to establish a baseline understanding of how microbial communities and the ecosystem services they provide in Arctic watersheds might respond to future climate change.

• MeSH
• ekosystém MeSH
• jezera mikrobiologie   MeSH
• klimatické změny MeSH
• mikrobiologie vody * MeSH
• mikrobiota * MeSH
• půda MeSH
• půdní mikrobiologie MeSH
• řeky mikrobiologie   MeSH
• RNA ribozomální 16S MeSH
• roční období MeSH
• sladká voda mikrobiologie   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Arktida MeSH
• Nunavut MeSH

To identify trematode diversity and life-cycles in the sub-Arctic Lake Takvatn, Norway, we characterised 120 trematode isolates from mollusc first intermediate hosts, metacercariae from second intermediate host fishes and invertebrates, and adults from fish and invertebrate definitive hosts, using molecular techniques. Phylogenies based on nuclear and/or mtDNA revealed high species richness (24 species or species-level genetic lineages) and uncovered trematode diversity (16 putative new species) from five families typical in lake ecosystems (Allocreadiidae, Diplostomidae, Plagiorchiidae, Schistosomatidae and Strigeidae). Sampling potential invertebrate hosts allowed matching of sequence data for different stages, thus achieving molecular elucidation of trematode life-cycles and exploration of host-parasite interactions. Phylogenetic analyses also helped identify three major mollusc intermediate hosts (Radix balthica, Pisidium casertanum and Sphaerium sp.) in the lake. Our findings increase the known trematode diversity at the sub-Arctic Lake Takvatn, showing that digenean diversity is high in this otherwise depauperate sub-Arctic freshwater ecosystem and indicating that sub-Arctic and Arctic ecosystems may be characterised by unique trematode assemblages.

• MeSH
• Amphipoda parazitologie   MeSH
• Bayesova věta MeSH
• bezobratlí parazitologie   MeSH
• ekosystém MeSH
• fylogeneze MeSH
• genetická variace * MeSH
• haplotypy MeSH
• hlemýždi parazitologie   MeSH
• hmyz parazitologie   MeSH
• infekce červy třídy Trematoda parazitologie   veterinární   MeSH
• jezera parazitologie   MeSH
• měkkýši klasifikace   parazitologie   MeSH
• mlži parazitologie   MeSH
• nemoci ryb parazitologie   MeSH
• ryby MeSH
• sekvenční seřazení MeSH
• Trematoda klasifikace   genetika   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Arktida MeSH
• Norsko MeSH

The acanthocephalan Echinorhynchus bothniensis Zdzitowiecki and Valtonen, 1987 differs from most other species in the genus Echinorhynchus Zoega in Müller, 1776 by infecting mysids (order Mysida) instead of amphipods (order Amphipoda) as intermediate hosts. Here we report on the occurrence of E. bothniensis in mysids (Mysis segerstralei Audzijonytė et Väinölä) and in its fish definitive hosts in a high Arctic lake. Out of 15 907 sampled mysids, 4.8% were infected with a mean intensity of 1.05 worms (range 1-5), although there was notable variation between samples taken in different years and sites. Larger mysids appear more likely to be infected. Of five fish species sampled, charr,Salvelinus alpinus (Linnaeus), and a benthic-feeding whitefish morph, Coregonus lavaretus (Linnaeus), were the most heavily infected (mean abundances of 80 and 15, respectively). The adult parasite population in fish exhibited a female-biased sex ratio (1.78 : 1). Although E. bothniensis is rather unique in infecting mysids, many aspects of its natural history mirror that of other acanthocephalan species.

• MeSH
• Acanthocephala * anatomie a histologie   MeSH
• hostitelská specificita MeSH
• jezera parazitologie   MeSH
• korýši parazitologie   MeSH
• parazitární zátěž statistika a číselné údaje   MeSH
• poměr pohlaví MeSH
• ryby klasifikace   parazitologie   MeSH
• statistika jako téma MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Arktida MeSH

Cyanobacteria form extensive macroscopic mats in shallow freshwater environments in the High Arctic and Antarctic. In these habitats, the communities are exposed to seasonal freezing and desiccation as well as to freeze-thawing and drying-rewetting cycles. Here, we characterized the annual cycles of two Phormidium communities in very shallow seepages located in central Svalbard. We observed the structure of the communities and the morphology, ultrastructure, metabolic activity, and viability of filaments and single cells. The communities overwintered as frozen mats, which were formed by long filaments enclosed in thick multilayered polysaccharide sheaths. No morphologically and/or ultrastructurally distinct spore-like cells were produced for surviving the winter, and the winter survival of the communities was not provided by a few resistant cells, which did not undergo visible morphological and ultrastructural transformations. Instead, a high proportion of cells in samples (85%) remained viable after prolonged freezing. The sheaths were the only morphological adaption, which seemed to protect the trichomes from damage due to freezing and freeze-associated dehydration. The cells in the overwintering communities were not dormant, as all viable cells rapidly resumed respiration after thawing, and their nucleoids were not condensed. During the whole vegetative season, defined by the presence of water in a liquid state, the communities were constantly metabolically active and contained <1% of dead and injured cells. The morphology and ultrastructure of the cells remained unaltered during observations throughout the year, except for light-induced changes in thylakoids. The dissemination events are likely to occur in spring as most of the trichomes were split into short fragments (hormogonia), a substantial proportion of which were released into the environment by gliding out of their sheaths, as well as by cracking and dissolving their sheaths. The short fragments subsequently grew longer and gradually produced new polysaccharide sheaths.

• MeSH
• ekosystém * MeSH
• mikrobiální viabilita MeSH
• mikrobiologie vody MeSH
• roční období MeSH
• sinice růst a vývoj   metabolismus   fyziologie   ultrastruktura   MeSH
• sladká voda chemie   mikrobiologie   MeSH
• teplota MeSH
• zmrazování MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Antarktida MeSH
• Arktida MeSH
• Svalbard MeSH

We review the available data that can be used to assess the potential impact of climate change on vegetation, and we use central Spitsbergen, Svalbard, as a model location for the High Arctic. We used two sources of information: recent and short-term historical records, which enable assessment on scales of particular plant communities and the landscape over a period of decades, and palynological and macrofossil analyses, which enable assessment on time scales of hundreds and thousands of years and on the spatial scale of the landscape. Both of these substitutes for standardized monitoring revealed stability of vegetation, which is probably attributable to the harsh conditions and the distance of the area from sources of diaspores of potential new incomers. The only evident recent vegetation changes related to climate change are associated with succession after glacial retreats. By establishing a network of permanent plots, researchers will be able to monitor immigration of new species from diversity 'hot spots' and from an abandoned settlement nearby. This will greatly enhance our ability to understand the effects of climate change on vegetation in the High Arctic.

• MeSH
• ekosystém MeSH
• klimatické změny MeSH
• monitorování životního prostředí MeSH
• rostliny MeSH
• vývoj rostlin MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• přehledy MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Arktida MeSH
• Švédsko MeSH

Zygnema is a genus of filamentous green algae belonging to the class of Zygnematophyceae (Streptophyta). In the Arctic, it typically forms extensive mats in habitats that regularly dry out during summer, and therefore, mechanisms of stress resistance are expected. We investigated its natural populations with respect to production of specialized desiccation-resistant cells and osmotic acclimation. Six populations in various stages of natural desiccation were selected, from wet biomass floating in water to dried paper-like crusts. After rewetting, plasmolysis and osmotic stress effects were studied using hypertonic sorbitol solutions, and the physiological state was estimated using chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters. All populations of Zygnema sp. formed stationary-phase cells filled with storage products. In green algal research, such cells are traditionally called akinetes. However, the populations differed in their reaction to osmotic stress. Whereas the wet-collected samples were strongly impaired, the osmotic stress resistance of the naturally dried samples was comparable to that of true aeroterrestrial algae. We showed that arctic populations of Zygnema acclimate well to natural desiccation via hardening that is mediated by slow desiccation. As no other types of specialized cells were observed, we assume that the naturally hardened akinetes also play a key role in winter survival.

• MeSH
• chlorofyl metabolismus   MeSH
• ekosystém MeSH
• fluorescenční mikroskopie MeSH
• fyziologická adaptace MeSH
• fyziologický stres * MeSH
• osmotický tlak MeSH
• vysoušení MeSH
• Zygnematales fyziologie   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Arktida MeSH
• Svalbard MeSH

UNLABELLED: Myxosporeans (Myxozoa), microscopic metazoan parasitic organisms, are poorly studied in the Arctic region. Our survey of benthic and pelagic fish (n = 234) collected in Isfjorden (Svalbard, Norway) together with detailed morphological and molecular examination revealed the presence of nine myxosporean species. We compared observed myxosporean diversity with diversity documented in regions close to the Arctic and revealed that water depth rather than geographic distribution is an important factor influencing myxosporean fauna. WE DESCRIBE THREE NEW MYXOSPOREAN SPECIES: Zschokkella siegfriedi n. sp. from kidney of Boreogadus saida, Parvicapsula petuniae n. sp. from the urinary bladder of Gymnocanthus tricuspis, and Sinuolinea arctica n. sp. from the urinary bladder of Myoxocephalus scorpius. We characterise Latyspora-like organism from kidney of Clupea harengus. We provide new data for Ceratomyxa porrecta, Myxidium gadi, Myxidium finnmarchicum, Schulmania aenigmatosa, and Parvicapsula irregularis comb. nov. The phylogenetic analyses including the newly obtained SSU and LSU rDNA data revealed that most of the species studied cluster in the marine urinary clade within the marine myxosporean lineage. Newly obtained sequences including the first molecular data for the member of the genus Schulmania, substantially enriched the Zschokkella subclade. C. porrecta and the two Myxidium species cluster within the Ceratomyxa and marine Myxidium clade, respectively. Newly described species, Z. siegfriedi n. sp., was revealed to be morphologically indistinguishable but genetically diverse from Zschokkella hildae known from numerous gadid fish. Therefore, we consider Z. siegfriedi to be a cryptic myxosporean species that might be misidentified with Z. hildae. A Latyspora-like organism was found to be taxonomically problematic due to its suture line and its distant phylogenetic position from the type species Latyspora scomberomori did not allow us to assign it to the genus Latyspora. Based on an increased taxon sampling and SSU + LSU rDNA-based phylogeny, evolutionary trends within the marine urinary clade are investigated.

• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

With the advent of molecular phylogenetic methods, it has become possible to assess the bioversity of snow algae more accurately. In this study, we focused on a morphological, ultrastructural and taxonomic description of a new Chloromonas-like alga isolated from snow in the High Arctic (Svalbard). Light and transmission electron microscopy revealed broad ellipsoidal or ellipsoidal-cylindrical, occasionally spherical cells with a chloroplast without a pyrenoid, an inconspicuous eyespot and a papilla. The size difference and the aforementioned morphological traits clearly distinguished the alga from its closest counterparts within the genus Chloromonas. Moreover, we were able to cultivate the alga at both 5 and 20 °C, revealing the psychrotolerant nature of the strain. Phylogenetic analyses of the plastid rbcL and nuclear 18S rRNA gene showed that the alga is nested within a clade containing a number of psychrotolerant strains within the Chloromonadinia phylogroup (Chlorophyceae). In the rbcL phylogeny, the alga formed an independent lineage, sister to the freshwater species Chloromonas paraserbinowii. Comparisons of secondary structure models of a highly variable ITS2 rDNA marker showed support for a distinct species identity for the new strain. The ITS2 secondary structure of the new isolate differed from the closest matches 'Chlamydomonas' gerloffii and Choloromonas reticulata by three and five compensatory base changes, respectively. Considering the morphological and molecular differences from its closest relatives, a new psychrotolerant species from the Arctic, Choromonas arctica sp. nov., is proposed.

• MeSH
• DNA řas genetika   MeSH
• fylogeneze * MeSH
• mezerníky ribozomální DNA genetika   MeSH
• plastidy genetika   MeSH
• RNA ribozomální 18S genetika   MeSH
• sekvenční analýza DNA MeSH
• sníh * MeSH
• Volvocida klasifikace   genetika   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Svalbard MeSH

Within streptophyte green algae Zygnematophyceae are the sister group to the land plants that inherited several traits conferring stress protection. Zygnema sp., a mat-forming alga thriving in extreme habitats, was collected from a field site in Svalbard, where the bottom layers are protected by the top layers. The two layers were investigated by a metatranscriptomic approach and GC-MS-based metabolite profiling. In the top layer, 6569 genes were significantly upregulated and 149 were downregulated. Upregulated genes coded for components of the photosynthetic apparatus, chlorophyll synthesis, early light-inducible proteins, cell wall and carbohydrate metabolism, including starch-degrading enzymes. An increase in maltose in the top layer and degraded starch grains at the ultrastructural levels corroborated these findings. Genes involved in amino acid, redox metabolism and DNA repair were upregulated. A total of 29 differentially accumulated metabolites (out of 173 identified ones) confirmed higher metabolic turnover in the top layer. For several of these metabolites, differential accumulation matched the transcriptional changes of enzymes involved in associated pathways. In summary, the findings support the hypothesis that in a Zygnema mat the top layer shields the bottom layers from abiotic stress factors such as excessive irradiation.

• MeSH
• Chlorophyta genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• ekosystém MeSH
• fotosyntéza genetika   MeSH
• fyziologický stres MeSH
• metabolom MeSH
• Streptophyta genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• transkriptom MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Arktida MeSH
• Svalbard MeSH