@article{ZimmermannStoofLeichsenringKruseetal.2020,
  author    = {Zimmermann, Heike Hildegard and Stoof-Leichsenring, Kathleen Rosemarie and Kruse, Stefan and M{\"u}ller, Juliane and Stein, Ruediger and Tiedemann, Ralf and Herzschuh, Ulrike},
  title     = {Changes in the composition of marine and sea-ice diatoms derived from sedimentary ancient DNA of the eastern Fram Strait over the past 30 000 years},
  series = {Ocean Science},
  volume    = {16},
  journal   = {Ocean Science},
  number    = {5},
  publisher = {Springer},
  address   = {Tokyo},
  pages     = {16},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {The Fram Strait is an area with a relatively low and irregular distribution of diatom microfossils in surface sediments, and thus microfossil records are scarce, rarely exceed the Holocene, and contain sparse information about past richness and taxonomic composition. These attributes make the Fram Strait an ideal study site to test the utility of sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) metabarcoding. Amplifying a short, partial rbcL marker from samples of sediment core MSM05/5-712-2 resulted in 95.7 \% of our sequences being assigned to diatoms across 18 different families, with 38.6 \% of them being resolved to species and 25.8 \% to genus level. Independent replicates show a high similarity of PCR products, especially in the oldest samples. Diatom sedaDNA richness is highest in the Late Weichselian and lowest in Mid- and Late Holocene samples. Taxonomic composition is dominated by cold-water and sea-ice-associated diatoms and suggests several reorganisations - after the Last Glacial Maximum, after the Younger Dryas, and after the Early and after the Mid-Holocene. Different sequences assigned to, amongst others, Chaetoceros socialis indicate the detectability of intra-specific diversity using sedaDNA. We detect no clear pattern between our diatom sedaDNA record and the previously published IP25 record of this core, although proportions of pennate diatoms increase with higher IP25 concentrations and proportions of Nitzschia cf. frigida exceeding 2 \% of the assemblage point towards past sea-ice presence.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{MogrovejoAriasBrillWagner2020,
  author    = {Mogrovejo Arias, Diana Carolina and Brill, Florian H. H. and Wagner, Dirk},
  title     = {Potentially pathogenic bacteria isolated from diverse habitats in Spitsbergen, Svalbard},
  series = {Environmental earth sciences},
  volume    = {79},
  journal   = {Environmental earth sciences},
  number    = {5},
  publisher = {Springer},
  address   = {Berlin ; Heidelberg},
  issn      = {1866-6280},
  doi       = {10.1007/s12665-020-8853-4},
  pages     = {9},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {The Arctic ecosystem, a reservoir of genetic microbial diversity, represents a virtually unlimited source of microorganisms that could interact with human beings. Despite continuous exploration of Arctic habitats and description of their microbial communities, bacterial phenotypes commonly associated with pathogenicity, such as hemolytic activity, have rarely been reported. In this study, samples of snow, fresh and marine water, soil, and sediment from several habitats in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard were collected during Summer, 2017. Bacterial isolates were obtained after incubation on oligotrophic media at different temperatures and their hemolytic potential was assessed on sheep blood agar plates. Partial (alpha) or true (beta) hemolysis was observed in 32 out of 78 bacterial species. Genes expressing cytolytic compounds, such as hemolysins, likely increase the general fitness of the producing microorganisms and confer a competitive advantage over the availability of nutrients in natural habitats. In environmental species, the nutrient-acquisition function of these compounds presumably precedes their function as toxins for mammalian erythrocytes. However, in the light of global warming, the presence of hemolytic bacteria in Arctic environments highlights the possible risks associated with these microorganisms in the event of habitat melting/destruction, ecosystem transition, and re-colonization.},
  language  = {en}
}