Ecology and biogeochemistry of cyanobacteria in soils, permafrost, aquatic and cryptic polar habitats

Biodiversity and Conservation volume 24, pages819–840(2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Polar Regions (continental Antarctica and the Arctic) are characterized by a range of extreme environmental conditions, which impose severe pressures on biological life. Polar cold-active cyanobacteria are uniquely adapted to withstand the environmental conditions of the high latitudes. These adaptations include high ultra-violet radiation and desiccation tolerance, and mechanisms to protect cells from freeze–thaw damage. As the most widely distributed photoautotrophs in these regions, cyanobacteria are likely the dominant contributors of critically essential ecosystem services, particularly carbon and nitrogen turnover in terrestrial polar habitats. These habitats include soils, permafrost, cryptic niches (including biological soil crusts, hypoliths and endoliths), ice and snow, and a range of aquatic habitats. Here we review current literature on the ecology, and the functional role played by cyanobacteria in various Arctic and Antarctic environments. We focus on the ecological importance of cyanobacterial communities in Polar Regions and assess what is known regarding the toxins they produce. We also review the responses and adaptations of cyanobacteria to extreme environments.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to gratefully acknowledge the University of Pretoria Research Development Program (TPM), Genomics Research Institute, The National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa’s National Antarctic Program (SANAP program) (TPM, AV, EG. MWVG, DAC) and Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Spain): Grant ref CTM 2011-28736 (DV, AQ) for funding. We also wish to express our gratitude to Antarctica New Zealand for providing logistics support for our Antarctic research and Prof Craig Cary (University of Waikato NZTABS program) for facilitating access to Antarctica.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Genetics, Centre for Microbial Ecology and Genomics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0028, South Africa

    Thulani P. Makhalanyane, Angel Valverde, Eoin Gunnigle, Marc W. Van Goethem & Don A. Cowan

  2. Departamento de Biologia, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, Spain

    David Velázquez & Antonio Quesada

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  1. Thulani P. Makhalanyane
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  2. Angel Valverde
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  3. David Velázquez
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  4. Eoin Gunnigle
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  6. Antonio Quesada
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  7. Don A. Cowan
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Correspondence to Don A. Cowan.

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Communicated by Anurag chaurasia.

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Makhalanyane, T.P., Valverde, A., Velázquez, D. et al. Ecology and biogeochemistry of cyanobacteria in soils, permafrost, aquatic and cryptic polar habitats. Biodivers Conserv 24, 819–840 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-015-0902-z

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Keywords

  • Cyanobacteria
  • Antarctica
  • Arctic
  • Soil
  • Aquatic
  • Cryptic niches biogeochemistry