Contrasting Patterns of Microbial Communities in Glacier Cryoconite of Nepali Himalaya and Greenland, Arctic

To understand the microbial composition and diversity patterns, cryoconite granules were collected from two geographical areas, i.e., Nepali Himalaya and Greenland, Arctic. 16S rRNA, ITS and the D1/D2 domain sequencing techniques were used for characterization of microbial communities of the four glaciers. The total 13 species of bacteria such as Bacillus aryabhattai , Bacillus simplex , Brevundimonas vesicularis , Cryobacterium luteum , Cryobacterium psychrotolerans , Dermacoccus nishinomiyaensis , Glaciihabitans tibetensis , Leifsonia kafniensis , Paracoccus limosus , Polaromonas glacialis , Sporosarcina globispora , Staphylococcus saprophyticus , Variovorax ginsengisoli , and 4 species of fungi such as Goffeauzyma gilvescens , Mrakia robertii , Dothideomycetes sp., Helotiales sp. were recorded from Nepali Himalaya. Among these, 12 species of bacteria and 4 species of fungi are new contributions to Himalaya. In contrast to this, six species of bacteria such as Bacillus cereus , Cryobacterium psychrotolerans , Dermacoccus nishinomiyaensis , Enhydrobacter aerosaccus , Glaciihabitans tibetensis , Subtercola frigoramans , and nine species of fungi such as Goffeauzyma gilvescens , Mrakia robertii , Naganishia vaughanmartiniae, Piskurozyma fildesensis , Rhodotorula svalbardensis , Alatospora acuminata , Articulospora sp., Phialophora sp., Thelebolus microspores , and Dothideomycetes sp.), were recorded from Qaanaaq, Isunnguata Sermia and Thule glaciers, Greenland. Among these, five species of bacteria and seven species of fungi are new contributions to Greenland cryoconite. Microbial analyses indicate that the Nepali Himalayan cryoconite colonize higher numbers of microbial species compared to the Greenland cryoconite.