Bacterial Diversity of Ny-Ålesund, Arctic Archipelago Svalbard

Abstract

The bacterial diversity of the water sample, collected from Ny-Ålesund, Arctic Archipelago Svalbard was analyzed by a phenotypic as well as a genotypic approach. Pure colonies of the culturable bacteria were established and grown at a range of temperatures: 4ºC, 15ºC, 22ºC and 37ºC. Optimum growth was found at 15ºC, and around 28 colonies were obtained. The library was dominated by 16S rDNAs of Gram-negative bacteria ( γ -Proteobacteria). Twenty two isolates exhibited sequences were similar to that of known bacterial isolates (>97% sequence similarity), represented by the species of the genera Psychrobacter , Pseudomonas , and Acinetobacter . Six isolates exhibited sequences showed less affi liation with known taxa (<97% sequence similarity), and may represent novel taxa.

Keywords

• 16S rRNA gene
• psychrotrophic bacteria
• biodiversity