It's difficult to live on the Tibetan Plateau. Frigid temperatures, high levels of solar radiation, and not a lot to eat make it hard to thaw.
It's a bit of a surprise that in these extreme environmental conditions scientists have found over 1000 different species of microbes. The discovery was made thanks to the first dedicated genome catalog of the glacier's ecology.
The glaciers' surface supports a variety of life, includingbacteria, algae, archaea, fungi, and other microeu1-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-6556 is1-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-6556 In their new paper, the team writes that microorganisms have demonstrated the ability to adapt to extreme conditions.
Glacier ice can be used as a record of airborne microorganisms from the past. The microbiome of the glaciers is an important source of information about the life on our planet.
There is a group of glaciers called the Tibetan plateau. The 2.5 million square kilometer region is an important water source for the surrounding areas in Asia and has been particularly affected by climate change.
If we don't note what species are currently there, climate change could cause them to be lost to history.
The team, led by Lan, presented the first dedicated genome and gene catalog for glacier ecology.
The researchers took samples of snow, ice, and dust from Tibetan glaciers. They used metagenomic methods on the samples to collect all of the genetic material present and then cultured some of the microbes in a lab to find out more about them.
More than 80% of the genomes were novel. 11 percent of species were found only in one glacier, while 10 percent were found in almost all the glaciers studied.
The project has become what the researchers are calling the 'Tibetan Glacier Genome and Gene' (TG2G) catalog, and hopefully this will be of use for researchers in the future.
The team writes that the glacier is threatened by global warming and is retreating at an unprecedented rate.
The catalog will be the basis of a global repository.
The research has appeared in a journal.
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