Definition
The application of metagenomic approaches unravels the diversity of bacteria in soils of the Ross Sea region of Antarctica.
Introduction
Soils of the Ross Sea region (RSR) of Antarctica are among the least understood ecosystems on Earth. They are cold desert soils characterized by extremely low soil temperatures, with an average mean annual temperature between −15 °C and −40 °C, and low soil moisture. Soil diversity in the Ross Sea region is influenced primarily by longitude (distance from the coast), elevation, proximity to streams and ponds, and age of soil parent materials (Bockheim 2008). Soil evolution involves melting and sublimation of ice in freshly deposited materials, accumulation of salts from atmospheric deposition, and further breakdown from salt weathering (Bockheim and McLeod 2008).
The low temperatures, low available water and humidity, abundant freeze-thaw cycles, and sometimes high...
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Aislabie, J., Bockheim, J.G. (2013). Soils of the Ross Sea Region, Metagenomics of. In: Nelson, K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Metagenomics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6418-1_139-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6418-1_139-1
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