The McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica have been called 'Ecosystems Waiting for Water' because the presence of liquid water determines the distribution of metabolically active microbial life. This research project will, for the first time, examine dehydrated cyanobacterial mats that have been present in the Dry Valleys 8,000 to 26,000 years before present. Isolates from rehydrated mats will be analyzed for maximum growth conditions and compared to species isolated from present day mats. DNA extracted from ancient mats will be used to determine the evolutionary history of cyanobacteria in the Dry Valleys as it relates to present day species. The genetic information gathered from this project will provide many insights into the extent of evolution that occurred in cyanobacterial mat communities in the Dry Valleys over a 20,000 year period, linking temporal and genetic distance for the first time in this ecosystem.
This project will also make an important contribution towards teaching, human resource development, increasing diversity in biological science and polar literacy. The project will train a graduate student in bioinformatics and microbial ecology. Data sets from this project will be incorporated into exercises to teach students concepts in the scientific method, biogeochemistry, metabolic controls on activity, genetic sequence analysis, and evolutionary biology. In addition, this research will be shared with a network of K-12 schools and incorporated into several workshops.
