Eight Metagenome-Assembled Genomes Provide Evidence for Microbial Adaptation in 20,000- to 1,000,000-Year-Old Siberian Permafrost
Katie Sipes, Abraham L. Almatari, Alexander Eddie, Daniel E. Williams, Elena Spirina, Elizaveta Rivkina, Renxing Liang, T. C. Onstott, Tatiana A. Vishnivetskaya, Karen G. Lloyd
Abstract
Permafrost around the world is thawing rapidly. Many scientists from a variety of disciplines have shown the importance of understanding what will happen to our ecosystem, commerce, and climate when permafrost thaws. The fate of permafrost microorganisms is connected to these predicted rapid environmental changes. Studying ancient permafrost with culture-independent techniques can give a glimpse into how these microorganisms function under these extreme low-temperature and low-energy conditions. This will facilitate understanding how they will change with the environment. This study presents genomic data from this unique environment ∼20,000 to 1,000,000 years of age.