Arid Zone Research ›› 2023, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (4): 670-680.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2023.04.16

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Analysis of the microbial diversity of the surface snow from Glacier No. 1 at the headwaters of Urumqi River, Tianshan Mountains

ZHANG Lijuan1(),DU Han1,YUN Fengze1,MA Yinghui2,ZHANG Xinqiang1,Awaguli TUERSUN1,MA Zhenghai1()   

  1. 1. Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, Xinjiang, China
    2. Tianshan Glaciological Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xinjiang, Urumqi 830035, Xinjiang, China
  • Received:2022-04-24 Revised:2023-02-09 Online:2023-04-15 Published:2023-04-28

Abstract:

To examine the characteristics of microbial communities in the surface snow samples from the Glacier No. 1 at the headwaters of Urumqi River, Tianshan Mountains (henceforth referred to as “Urumqi Glacier No. 1”) and their relationship with climate and environment, surface snow samples were collected at an altitude of 3549 m in the spring (April, TSX1), and 3770 m (TSX2) and 3800 m (TSX3) in the summer (June) in the region in 2021. The V3-V4 region of 16S rDNA of bacteria, the V4-V5 region of 16S rDNA of archaea, and the ITS2 region of fungi were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The products were then subjected to high-throughput sequencing, after which the microbial diversity was analyzed. The results showed that the microbial diversity of the surface snow samples from the Urumqi Glacier No. 1 differed in spring and summer, with the bacterial diversity being higher in spring and lower in summer, while the fungal diversity showed the opposite pattern. Proteobacteria (58.13%-89.10%) and Bacteroidetes (4.24%-40.74%) were the dominant bacteria at the phylum level, while Flavobacterium (2.32%-33.64%) and Polaromonas (0.01%-24.72%) were the dominant bacteria at the genus level. Thaumarchaeota (38.10%-97.55%) was the dominant archaea in the three samples, followed by Nanoarchaeaeota (0%-61.90%) and Euryarchaeota (0%-2.82%). Ascomycota (7.06%-88.43%) and Monoblepharidomycota (36.21%-40.78%) were the dominant fungi at the phylum level, and Aspergillus (0.16%-81.04%) and Rhodotorula (0.02%-8.05%) were the dominant fungi at the genus level. Network interaction analysis showed that the microbial network interaction was dominated by the positive correlation connection (97.3%), and the negative correlation connection accounted for 2.7%, and the interactive relationship tended to be cooperative. In summary, the surface snow microbiota of the Urumqi Glacier No.1 was highly diverse, and the seasonal variation in the microbial community reflects the response of microorganisms to atmospheric circulation in different seasons.

Key words: Urumqi Glacier No.1, Tianshan, surface snow, microbial diversity, network interaction analysis