Seasonal variation of snow microbial community structure in the East Rongbuk glacier, Mt. Everest

The bacterial diversity and abundance in the snow of East Rongbuk glacier, Mt. Everest were examined through 16S rRNA gene clone library and flow cytometry approaches. In total, 35 16S rRNA gene sequences were obtained, which belong to α, β, γ-Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, CFB, Cyanobacteria, Eukaryotic chloroplast, and TM7 candidate phylum respectively. γ-Proteobacteria was the dominant bacterial group in this region, while the genera Acinetobacter and Leclercia were dominant on the genus level. The community structure varied seasonally. The bacterial abundance in summer snow was higher than that in winter. Moreover, the snow bacterial community structures in both seasons were diverse, with not only common species but season-specific species. The common species most likely originated from the Tibet Plateau. Bacteria in summer snow are affiliated with marine environment, whereas bacteria in winter snow are closely related to more diverse environments and show the feature of resistance to cold. Seasonal variations of abundance and bacterial diversity were most probably due to the seasonal characteristics of climate and atmospheric circulation in Mt. Everest.