Abundance and diversity of snow bacteria in two glaciers at the Tibetan Plateau

Snow bacterial abundance and diversity at the Guoqu Glacier and the East Rongbuk Glacier located in the central and southern Tibetan Plateau were investigated using a 16S rRNA gene clone library and flow cytometry approach. Bacterial abundance was observed to show seasonal variation, with different patterns, at the two glaciers. High bacterial abundance occurs during the monsoon season at the East Rongbuk Glacier and during the non-monsoon season at the Guoqu Glacier. Seasonal variation in abundance is caused by the snow bacterial growth at the East Rongbuk Glacier, but by bacterial input from the dust at the Guoqu Glacier. Under the influence of various atmospheric circulations and temperature, bacterial diversity varies seasonally at different degrees. Seasonal variation in bacterial diversity is more distinct at the Guoqu Glacier than at the East Rongbuk Glacier. Bacterial diversity at the two glaciers exhibits different responses to various environmental conditions. More bacteria at the Guoqu Glacier are connected with those from a soil environment, while more bacteria affiliated with a marine environment occur at the East Rongbuk Glacier.