Bacterial communities associated with biological soil crust in glacier moraines

Bacterial communities associated with grey/dark biological soil crust and related deep layer substrates were collected in six sites within the foreland of the Lobuche glacier (4,971 m a.s.l.) in the Khumbu Valley - Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal. Each site potentially represents a separate niche, exposed to different climatic conditions. We performed Illumina sequencing to unveil the composition of bacterial communities. Through this approach, we identified the key bacterial members and discuss the potential functional role of prevalent taxa within biocrusts in Himalayan glacier forelands.