Bacterial diversity in Icelandic cold spring sources and in relation to the groundwater amphipod Crangonyx islandicus

Crangonyx islandicus is a groundwater amphipod endemic to Iceland, considered to have survived the Ice Ages in subglacial refugia. Currently the species is found in spring sources in lava fields along the tectonic plate boundary of the country. The discovery of a groundwater species in this inaccess...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2019-10, Vol.14 (10), p.e0222527-e0222527
Main Authors: Guðmundsdóttir, Ragnhildur, Kreiling, Agnes-Katharina, Kristjánsson, Bjarni Kristófer, Marteinsson, Viggó Þór, Pálsson, Snæbjörn
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amphipoda - microbiology
Animals
Bacteria
Bacteria - genetics
Bacteria - growth & development
Biodiversity
Biology and Life Sciences
DNA
Earth Sciences
Ecology and Environmental Sciences
Ecosystems
Gammaridea
Genes
Genetic aspects
Genetic research
Genetic Variation
Geography
Groundwater
Groundwater - microbiology
Iceland
Linear Models
Microbiota
Microorganisms
People and Places
RNA
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics
Tectonics
Water
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Summary:Crangonyx islandicus is a groundwater amphipod endemic to Iceland, considered to have survived the Ice Ages in subglacial refugia. Currently the species is found in spring sources in lava fields along the tectonic plate boundary of the country. The discovery of a groundwater species in this inaccessible habitat indicates a hidden ecosystem possibly based on chemoautotrophic microorganisms as primary producers. To explore this spring ecosystem, we assessed its microbial diversity and analysed whether and how the diversity varied between the amphipods and the spring water, and if was dependent on environmental factors and geological settings. Isolated DNA from spring water and from amphipods was analysed using metabarcoding methods, targeting the 16S rRNA gene. Two genera of bacteria, Halomonas and Shewanella were dominating in the amphipod samples in terms of relative abundance, but not in the groundwater samples where Flavobacterium, Pseudomonas and Alkanindiges among others were dominating. The richness of the bacteria taxa in the microbial community of the groundwater spring sources was shaped by pH level and the beta diversity was shaped by geographic locations.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0222527