The life hidden within the permafrost
Permafrost in the Northern Hemisphere holds a vast array of ancient genetic material, including potentially dangerous bacteria and viruses. With global warming predicted to melt large parts of the permafrost, it is vital to understand exactly which microbes are frozen below the surface. The EU-funded 'Forecasting the climatic and health consequences of global warming on permafrost environments' (PERMATHREAT) project addressed this problem by using next-generation sequencing to identify bacteria and viruses within the permafrost. Researchers first developed a comparative approach, which allowed them to separate various populations of microbes within a sample. Their method was used for the rest of the project, which involved researchers extracting DNA from the remains of ancient horses, frozen in the permafrost. This was compared to DNA from modern horses to spot differences in the bacteria and viruses present in the samples. As part of this work, PERMATHREAT has discovered how Siberian horses have adapted to extremely cold climates over time. The project has also described the genetic diversity of a rare horse breed, Przewalski's horse, for the first time. The work of PERMATHREAT has provided new ways to understand the biodiversity of microbes in permafrost. This will help in adjusting to the environmental changes expected over the coming decades.
