Isolation of bacteria and 16S rDNAs from Lake Vostok accretion ice

Lake Vostok, the largest subglacial lake in Antarctica, is separated from t he surface by approximate to4 km of glacial ice. It has been isolated from direct surface input for at least 420 000 years, and the possibility of a n ovel environment and ecosystem therefore exists. Lake Vostok water has not been sampled, but an ice core has been recovered that extends into the ice accreted below glacial ice by freezing of Lake Vostok water. Here, we repor t the recovery of bacterial isolates belonging to the Brachybacteria, Methy lobacterium, Paenibacillus and Sphingomonas lineages from a sample of melt water from this accretion ice that originated 3593 m below the surface. We have also amplified small-subunit ribosomal RNA-encoding DNA molecules (16S rDNAs) directly from this melt water that originated from alpha- and beta -proteobacteria, low- and high-G+C Gram-positive bacteria and a member of t he Cytophaga/Flavobacterium/Bacteroides lineage.