The perennially ice-covered Lake Enigma, Antarctica supports unique microbial communities

Northern Foothills of Victoria Land, Antarctica contains numerous hydrological formations, ranging from small surface streams and ponds fed by glacial or snow meltwater to permafrost lakes containing briny pockets. Here we describe the discovery of a massive body of unfrozen stratified oligotrophic water in Lake Enigma, a permanently ice-covered lake previously thought to be frozen from top to bottom. A remarkable feature of the Lake Enigma microbial ecosystem is the presence, and sometimes even dominance, of ultrasmall bacteria belonging to the superphylum Patescibacteria, a group apparently absent from Antarctic lakes in the well-studied McMurdo Dry Valleys. Cyanobacteria are virtually absent from Lake Enigma ice and water column although they are well represented in its extensive and diverse benthic microbial mats. Collectively, these features reveal a new complexity in Antarctic lake food webs and demonstrate that in addition to phototrophic and simple chemotrophic metabolisms, both symbiotic and predatory lifestyles may exist. Unfrozen water in the perennially ice-covered Lake Enigma, Antarctica supports microbial communities distinct from those in other Antarctic lakes according to analyses of the lake’s physical structure, geochemistry, hydrological history, and microbiota.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Communications Earth & Environment
Published
2024-12-03
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01842-5
Citations
3
Primary Topic
Polar Research and Ecology
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.38

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

The perennially ice-covered Lake Enigma, Antarctica supports unique microbial communities

Giovanni Benedetti, Stefano Amalfitano, Gina La Spada, Stefano Fazi et al.
3 citations
Communications Earth & Environment
Polar Research and Ecology
1.38
article

The perennially ice-covered Lake Enigma, Antarctica supports unique microbial communities

Giovanni Benedetti, Stefano Amalfitano, Gina La Spada, Stefano Fazi, Orlando Vaselli, Nunziatina Porcino, Stefanía Venturi, Francesco Smedile, Violetta La Cono, Maurizio Azzaro, Stefano Urbini, Michael T. Madigan, Michail M. Yakimov, John E. Hallsworth, Francesca Crisafi, Franco Tassi
article en
3 citations

Abstract

Northern Foothills of Victoria Land, Antarctica contains numerous hydrological formations, ranging from small surface streams and ponds fed by glacial or snow meltwater to permafrost lakes containing briny pockets. Here we describe the discovery of a massive body of unfrozen stratified oligotrophic water in Lake Enigma, a permanently ice-covered lake previously thought to be frozen from top to bottom. A remarkable feature of the Lake Enigma microbial ecosystem is the presence, and sometimes even dominance, of ultrasmall bacteria belonging to the superphylum Patescibacteria, a group apparently absent from Antarctic lakes in the well-studied McMurdo Dry Valleys. Cyanobacteria are virtually absent from Lake Enigma ice and water column although they are well represented in its extensive and diverse benthic microbial mats. Collectively, these features reveal a new complexity in Antarctic lake food webs and demonstrate that in addition to phototrophic and simple chemotrophic metabolisms, both symbiotic and predatory lifestyles may exist. Unfrozen water in the perennially ice-covered Lake Enigma, Antarctica supports microbial communities distinct from those in other Antarctic lakes according to analyses of the lake’s physical structure, geochemistry, hydrological history, and microbiota.

Communications Earth & EnvironmentVol. 5(1)
Southern Illinois University Carbondale (US), Queen's University Belfast (GB), Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (IT), Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources (IT), Water Research Institute (IT), National Research Council (IT), University of Florence (IT)
European Commission
Openalex Percentile: Top 17%
Polar Research and Ecology
1.38
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.