Antarctic microbial communities in mineral deposits on Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands

Livingston Island, located at the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, is characterised by an oceanic polar climate with temperatures above 0°C during the austral summer and a mean annual precipitation between 400 and 500 mm. Under these conditions a soil formation can be observed and lichens, mosses and some higher plants are able to grow in this environment. With cultivation-independent methods, it is possible to analyse complex microbial networks in the face of diversity, abundance, ecology and their reaction on climate change. Here, we investigated the bacterial community structure of different habitats located on Livingston Island by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) to get a first insight in the diversity of bacteria existing under these conditions. The aim of these studies is to identify the main microbial players in nutrient turnover within periglacial ecosystems of Antarctica.One transect and four separate profiles were sampled near the Bulgarian station St. Kliment Ohridski (62°38`S/60°21`W). Two soil profiles were characterised by permafrost. The investigated mineral soils showed mostly gravely sand texture. Moisture content of the soils ranged from 2.6% up to 15.6% and was partly quite variable within the different profiles. The values of total carbon and nitrogen were extremely low with <0.10 to 0.46% and