Detection of microorganisms in dune sand of a low organic content

Dune sand of a low organic matter content (0.11%) was collected in Czolpino (southern Baltic Sea coast; coordinates: 54°43'N, 17°13'E; Poland, temperate zone). After collection, sand was air-dried, sieved, and stored at 20°C through 10 months. Next, to develop microbial communities it was hydrated with sterile distilled water and incubated in the dark at room temperature. Microbial communities in dune sand were studied through 7 days at the top and bottom layers based on 16S rRNA gene analyses. After hydration, abundance and diversity of microorganisms gradually rose. Microbial community was predominantly composed of bacteria and archaea were unimportant. The most prominent bacterial genera were Massilia and Bacillus. Other important genera recorded in sand samples were Acinetobacter, Hymenobacter, Magnetospirillum, Paenibacillus, Pontibacter, Segetibacter, Sphingomonas and Tumebacillus. Studies were conducted during Transnational Access to the Center for Microbial Life Detection at the Medical University of Graz, thanks to Europlanet 2020 Research Initiative (project: ”Microbial community in dune sand of low organic content”, No 18-EPN4-051, beneficent: Krzysztof Rychert). Europlanet 2020 RI has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 654208.