Portable shotgun metagenomic sequencing of supraglacial microbiota

Glaciers have rich microbiota, which play an active role in maintaining the glacier’s properties and determining melting speed¹. As such, the study of changing  glacial microbiomes is important for understanding the effects of global warming. Dr. Arwyn Edwards from the Aberystwyth University (UK) pioneered the establishment of a portable lab setup in Svalbard (between Norway and the North Pole) using Oxford Nanopore’s MinION to study glacial microbiomes¹.

Dr. Edwards’ team set out to study the microbiomes of a cryoconite (windblown deposits comprised of rock particles and microbes) and a red snow algal bloom in situ using a metagenomic approach¹ (Figure 8). All of the equipment necessary for this study was transported in 2 standard sized airplane pieces of luggage.

The team was able to obtain raw sequencing data within 36 hours of sample collection. The WIMP bioinformatics workflow used to resolve microbe composition of  the sequenced metagenomic samples revealed a dominant presence of Proteobacteria, as expected from previous studies using short-read technology. The  majority of the remaining microbes identified also followed prior expectations.

Recently, the team have assessed the utility of 16S nanopore sequencing to understand the impact of different ecological conditions on microbial communities in the field, with initial results showing significant changes in microbiome composition².

Dr. Edwards’ results demonstrate the utility of nanopore sequencing for accurate microbiome analysis in remote and extreme, resource-limited environments.

Figure: Sample collection from a cryoconite (a) and red snow algal bloom (b) in Svalbard. Images courtesy of Dr. Arwyn Edwards, Aberystwyth University, UK.

This case study is taken from the microbiome white paper.