Pro- and eukaryotic microbial networks in soils along a glacier forefield chronosequence in the Larsemann Hills, East Antarctica

The aim was to investigate the development of microbial communities from their initial assembly succeeding in a complex network of pro- and eukaryotic microorganisms which is responsible for the further development and leading eventually to the stabilization of the soil habitat. A soil transect characterized by very low nutrient content was chosen that represents a chronosequence of different soil developmental stages after glacier retreat in the Larsemann Hills, East Antarctica. A novel DNA extraction protocol enabled the separation of extracellular (eDNA) and intracellular (iDNA) representing past and recent, living microbial communities, respectively. Both DNA pools were used for the taxonomic assessment by amplicon-based sequencing of pro- and eukaryotic SSU and ITS2 rRNA gene markers.