Rapid in-field MinION Nanopore glacier melting water metagenomics sequencing at Qilian Mountain

Nanopore metagenomics sequencing enables rapid annotating microbial ecosystems on site. Recent successful glacier related applications (e.g. ice sheets, ice lake and cryoconite holes) inspire us to performing in situ melting water sequencing at Qilian Mountain, China. Our findings suggest it may not be safe to consume melting water directly without further treatment in field; and despite only several hundred meters apart, the microbial ecology and functionalities differentiate on three sampling sites. Variety of chaperons that facilitate protein folding, cold shock, tRNA species, oxidative stress, sulfur oxidation and nitrification pathways, heavy metal pumps and resistance to toxic compounds etc. were all noticed in this study, which are highly consistent with other glacier related sequencing works. We have also shown Nanopore metagenomics sequencing can provide comparable prokaryotic classifications on phylum level within or among studies, encouraging more applications in field given much faster turnaround time. We also illustrated analysis pipelines and/or programs are able to effect conclusions, meaning researchers need to integrate more appropriate results before concluding.