Potential risks of bacterial plant pathogens from thawing permafrost in the Alaskan tundra
Global warming-induced permafrost thawing raises concerns about the release of dormant microbes, including potentially harmful plant pathogens. However, the potential pathogenic risks associated with the thawing of permafrost remain poorly understood. Here, we conducted a 90-day soil incubation expe...
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Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651324016075 |
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| author | Dockyu Kim Mincheol Kim Sungho Woo Sungjin Nam Nu Ri Myeong Eungbin Kim Yung Mi Lee |
| author_facet | Dockyu Kim Mincheol Kim Sungho Woo Sungjin Nam Nu Ri Myeong Eungbin Kim Yung Mi Lee |
| author_sort | Dockyu Kim |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Global warming-induced permafrost thawing raises concerns about the release of dormant microbes, including potentially harmful plant pathogens. However, the potential pathogenic risks associated with the thawing of permafrost remain poorly understood. Here, we conducted a 90-day soil incubation experiment at 4 °C to mimic extended permafrost thawing in Alaskan tundra soils stratified into active (A), transitional (T), and permanently frozen (P) layers. Following incubation, we examined the changes in bacterial abundance and community composition and tested the reactivation and pathogenicity of dormant plant pathogenic bacteria. Bacterial abundance, measured by colony-forming units and 16S rRNA gene copies, distinctly increased in the T and P layers after thawing. These layers also exhibited substantial shifts in bacterial community structure, with Fe-cycling taxa becoming more abundant and permafrost-dominant taxa decreasing in abundance. Notably, we isolated 52 strains with proteolytic activity, and our pathogenicity tests confirmed that Pseudomonas spp. isolates caused potato soft rot symptoms. Some Pseudomonas pathogens were undetectable in the amplicon sequencing data before thawing and emerged only in the thawed T and P layers. Our findings illustrate that permafrost acts as a reservoir of potential plant pathogens, and their resurgence upon thawing poses a potential risk to Arctic ecosystems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5cf35d3ab1e842d5802ede6242cfa329 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0147-6513 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| series | Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety |
| spelling | doaj-art-5cf35d3ab1e842d5802ede6242cfa3292025-01-23T05:25:50ZengElsevierEcotoxicology and Environmental Safety0147-65132025-01-01289117531Potential risks of bacterial plant pathogens from thawing permafrost in the Alaskan tundraDockyu Kim0Mincheol Kim1Sungho Woo2Sungjin Nam3Nu Ri Myeong4Eungbin Kim5Yung Mi Lee6Division of Life Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, Incheon 21990, Republic of Korea; Correspondence to: Division of Life Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, Songdomirae-ro 26, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 21990, Republic of Korea.Division of Life Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, Incheon 21990, Republic of Korea; Correspondence to: Division of Life Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, Songdomirae-ro 26, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 21990, Republic of Korea.Division of Life Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, Incheon 21990, Republic of KoreaDivision of Life Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, Incheon 21990, Republic of KoreaDivision of Life Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, Incheon 21990, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Systems Biology, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of KoreaDivision of Life Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, Incheon 21990, Republic of KoreaGlobal warming-induced permafrost thawing raises concerns about the release of dormant microbes, including potentially harmful plant pathogens. However, the potential pathogenic risks associated with the thawing of permafrost remain poorly understood. Here, we conducted a 90-day soil incubation experiment at 4 °C to mimic extended permafrost thawing in Alaskan tundra soils stratified into active (A), transitional (T), and permanently frozen (P) layers. Following incubation, we examined the changes in bacterial abundance and community composition and tested the reactivation and pathogenicity of dormant plant pathogenic bacteria. Bacterial abundance, measured by colony-forming units and 16S rRNA gene copies, distinctly increased in the T and P layers after thawing. These layers also exhibited substantial shifts in bacterial community structure, with Fe-cycling taxa becoming more abundant and permafrost-dominant taxa decreasing in abundance. Notably, we isolated 52 strains with proteolytic activity, and our pathogenicity tests confirmed that Pseudomonas spp. isolates caused potato soft rot symptoms. Some Pseudomonas pathogens were undetectable in the amplicon sequencing data before thawing and emerged only in the thawed T and P layers. Our findings illustrate that permafrost acts as a reservoir of potential plant pathogens, and their resurgence upon thawing poses a potential risk to Arctic ecosystems.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651324016075Bacterial communitiesGlobal warmingOutbreakPermafrost thawingPotential plant pathogen |
| spellingShingle | Dockyu Kim Mincheol Kim Sungho Woo Sungjin Nam Nu Ri Myeong Eungbin Kim Yung Mi Lee Potential risks of bacterial plant pathogens from thawing permafrost in the Alaskan tundra Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety Bacterial communities Global warming Outbreak Permafrost thawing Potential plant pathogen |
| title | Potential risks of bacterial plant pathogens from thawing permafrost in the Alaskan tundra |
| title_full | Potential risks of bacterial plant pathogens from thawing permafrost in the Alaskan tundra |
| title_fullStr | Potential risks of bacterial plant pathogens from thawing permafrost in the Alaskan tundra |
| title_full_unstemmed | Potential risks of bacterial plant pathogens from thawing permafrost in the Alaskan tundra |
| title_short | Potential risks of bacterial plant pathogens from thawing permafrost in the Alaskan tundra |
| title_sort | potential risks of bacterial plant pathogens from thawing permafrost in the alaskan tundra |
| topic | Bacterial communities Global warming Outbreak Permafrost thawing Potential plant pathogen |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651324016075 |
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