Diversity and metabolic abilities of Antarctic bacteria - DGGE fingerprinting of bacteria

Higher bacterial diversity was found in soils from protected or relatively low human-impacted sites in comparison to highly impacted sites. However, the highest diversity was detected in samples from Wilkes Tip, a former waste disposal site that has been undisturbed for the last 50 years.

Comparison of community structure based on non-metric multidimensional scaling plots revealed that all sites, except the hydrocarbon-contaminated (oil spill) site, were clustered with a 45% similarity. A total of 23 partial 16S rRNA gene sequences were obtained from the excised DGGE bands, with the majority of the sequences closely related to those of the Cytophaga-Flexibacter-Bacteroides group. No significant correlation was established between environmental variables, including soil pH, electrical conductivity, carbon, nitrogen, water content and heavy metals, with bacterial diversity across the eight study sites.