Due to their geochemical characteristics, some soil can be considered as extreme. Such is the case in New Caledonia, where the ultramafic soils are characterized by their deficiency in essential elements, and their excess in heavy metals, particularly nickel. This phenomenon is amplified in mine spoils where carbon and nitrogen concentrations are extremely low. The aim of this work was to evaluate the adaptive strategies of soil microbial communities to extreme environments. A combination of metagenomic tools were used (16S rRNA libraries, microarray, cosmid clone libraries and pyrosequencing) and a comparative metagenomic analysis, including metagenomes of “classical “ soils, was performed to demonstrate the differences between bacterial communities and their functions. Statistical differences were examined in order to explore genes/populations specific to extreme soils. Results highlighted the original bacterial community structure and metabolism in the mine spoils, characteristic of its extreme edaphic conditions. Microbial communities evolved by favoring biosynthetic pathways and minimizing nutrient loss.
METAGENOMIC: INSIGHTS ON EXTREME METABOLISM
Scorretti, Riccardo;
2008
Abstract
Due to their geochemical characteristics, some soil can be considered as extreme. Such is the case in New Caledonia, where the ultramafic soils are characterized by their deficiency in essential elements, and their excess in heavy metals, particularly nickel. This phenomenon is amplified in mine spoils where carbon and nitrogen concentrations are extremely low. The aim of this work was to evaluate the adaptive strategies of soil microbial communities to extreme environments. A combination of metagenomic tools were used (16S rRNA libraries, microarray, cosmid clone libraries and pyrosequencing) and a comparative metagenomic analysis, including metagenomes of “classical “ soils, was performed to demonstrate the differences between bacterial communities and their functions. Statistical differences were examined in order to explore genes/populations specific to extreme soils. Results highlighted the original bacterial community structure and metabolism in the mine spoils, characteristic of its extreme edaphic conditions. Microbial communities evolved by favoring biosynthetic pathways and minimizing nutrient loss.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
