Diversity and distribution of the prokaryotic community in near-surface permafrost sediments in the Tianshan Mountains, China.

The community structures and diversity of bacteria and archaea were investigated at 4 depths (1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 m) in permafrost sediments in the Tianshan Mountains, using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of 16S rRNA gene amplified by polymerase chain reaction. Phylogenetic analysis of the dominant bands sequenced revealed the presence of rich diversity of bacteria, which could be related to the Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Chloroflexi. The Proteobacteria, consisting of the alpha, beta, gamma and epsilon subdivisions, were clearly the dominant group at all depths studied. Archaeal diversity was relatively low and archaeal 16S rRNA gene sequences were grouped into 3 phylogenetic clusters within the 2 kingdoms Euryarchaeota and Crenarchaeota. Within the Euryarchaeota, methanogen-related group II was most abundant at shallow depth (1.5 m), whereas halobacterium-related group I dominated at greater depths. The low-temperature Crenarchaeota group was detected only at 2.5 and 3.0 m. Specific-depth distribution of methanogen-related Euryarchaeota group II and denitrifying bacteria of the genus Pseudomonas dominated at 1.5 m depth, accompanied by a distinct peak in the ratio of NH4-N to NO3/NO2-N, implying the potential capacity of these organisms in near-surface permafrost to release the greenhouse gases N2O and CH4.

Origin and evolution of two Yugur sub-clans in Northwest China: a case study in paternal genetic landscape.

BACKGROUND: Yugur is an ethnic group that was officially identified by the Chinese Government in 1953. Within the population there are two sub-clans distinctly identified as the Eastern Yugur and Western Yugur, partly because they have different local languages. AIM: A parentage comparison was conducted between the two sub-clans to investigate their genetic relationship. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Male subjects were chosen from the two clans to investigate their paternal genetic landscape through typing 14 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) and 12 short tandem repeats (STR) of the Y chromosome. RESULTS: Significant differences were revealed between the sub-clans at the haplogroup level. Genetic divergence was also observed by analyses of multidimensional scaling (MDS) and principal components (PC). Genetically, the Eastern Yugur are closer to the Han Chinese and Mongolian people than the Western Yugur. The Uygur people, who share a common ancestor (ancient Huihu) with the Yugur, were genetically separate from both sub-clans of Yugur. Moreover, the constructed phylogenetic network for haplogroup O provided further evidence that the two Yugur sub-groups present an underlying genetic difference. CONCLUSION: Overall, the diffusion of Mongolians during the Mongol Period has affected the Eastern Yugur more than the Western Yugur. The genetic contribution of the Han people to the Eastern Yugur seems to be more pronounced than to the Western Yugur. Besides the two different contributions referred to above, small population size and genetic drift have resulted in the genetic differentiation of the current sub-clans of Yugur.

Phylogenetic diversity of culturable bacteria from alpine permafrost in the Tianshan Mountains, northwestern China.

Microbes have been discovered in permafrost sediments for nearly a century. However, microbiological analyses of alpine permafrost are very scarce. This study is a first attempt to describe the phylogenetic diversity of a culturable bacterial community isolated from alpine permafrost in the Tianshan Mountains in northwestern China. Aerobic 2.5-6.0x10(5) CFU/gdw (CFU per 1 gram of dry weight) on modified PYGV medium were recovered from alpine permafrost samples at 4 degrees C; among these, 91 bacterial isolates with different morphotypes were characterized by phenotypic properties, such as morphology, colony pigmentation, Gram staining, endospore formation and temperature range of growth. The isolates were further categorized based on amplified rDNA restriction analysis (ARDRA), and 51 representative isolates possessing distinct ARDRA patterns selected for subsequent 16S rDNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. The phylogenetic trees placed the 51 isolates in four major groups: the high-G+C Gram-positives, the low-G+C Gram-positives, Proteobacteria and the Cytophaga-Flavobacterium-Bacteroides (CFB) phylum. The most abundant and diverse isolates were members of Gram-positive bacteria, particularly the Arthrobacter as a dominant group in alpine permafrost culturable populations. Results of the Jukes-Cantor evolutionary distance matrix suggested that the vast majority of the isolates were different strains of known species, and three may represent new species within the genus Chryseobacterium of the CFB phylum. From this study, it is proposed that alpine permafrost sediments in the Tianshan Mountains provide a specific ecological niche for prolonging survival of diverse microbial lineages.