Microbial Biodiversity and Bioprospecting in Polar Ecosystems in the Genomics Era

Microorganisms are the most diverse and abundant organisms essential for biogeochemical cycles and ecosystem functioning. They have also been considered the most profitable sources of bioactive natural products for over a century. Therefore, microbial diversity is vital for the sustainability of ecosystem functioning and biotechnological applications of microbial natural resources, especially for health-related advances. In this regard, polar and subpolar habitats, including microbial symbioses, are of paramount importance for maintaining biodiversity and community composition, as global climate change can dramatically affect these extreme and unique environments. In recent decades, the advent of genomic technologies has provided insights into understanding the diversity, function, adaptation, and evolution of microorganisms and microbial communities in diverse global environments. Notably, genome-resolved metagenomic studies have substantially expanded the tree of life by providing a clear representation of the phylogenetic diversity of microorganisms. Thus, more comprehensive studies on microbial biodiversity in polar habitats may help to model the impacts of global climate change on these vulnerable ecosystems and provide novel sources for bioprospection.

Due to the extreme physicochemical conditions of polar environments, bioactive secondary metabolites produced by polar microorganisms may have enormous scaffold diversity and structural complexity. Moreover, cold-active genes derived from the Arctic and Antarctic microorganisms are considered as valuable sources for antifreeze proteins, extracellular polymeric substances, and polyunsaturated fatty acids with potential applications in medicine, agriculture, food and textile industries. Although several natural products with bioactivity and cold-active enzymes have been isolated from polar and subpolar environments, there is an urgent need to uncover microbial biodiversity and bioprospection potential of these environments by employing culture-dependent and culture-independent genomics approaches, including the construction of metagenomic-assembled genomes. Understanding the microbial and chemical diversity of the Arctic and Antarctic habitats will also provide an opportunity to relate these diversities to the ecosystem and evolutionary parameters.

The scope of this Research Topic covers the exploration of microbial biodiversity in the Arctic and Antarctic habitats, including microbial symbioses, by employing culture-dependent and high throughput culture-independent approaches. Moreover, the topic involves the exploitation of polar microorganisms or genetic resources to discover novel genes coding for bioactive metabolites or cold-active enzymes.

This topic welcomes original research articles, reviews, and methods emphasizing but not limited to the following themes:

• Culturing and identifying novel microorganisms from the Arctic and Antarctic habitats;

• Exploration of microbial diversity by metagenome-assembled genomes in polar regions;

• Bioactivity screening using cutting-edge technologies to exploit polar microorganisms for bioprospection;

• Integration of multiple data derived from biodiversity and genomics research to model ecosystem functioning in polar regions.

This Research Topic was coordinated by Dr. Hilal Ay, who is working as an academician in Turkey. Her research interests cover microbial systematics and biotechnology. She recently joined the Turkish Antarctic Expedition to collect samples for exploring novel actinobacteria with potential applications in aquaculture.