If the Arctic permafrost melts and viruses and bacteria awaken [Climate Crisis Now]

There is permafrost in the Arctic. It is land that does not melt. Recently, due to the effects of global warming, this permafrost is slowly melting. Viruses and bacteria that we do not know about are sleeping in the permafrost. We do not yet know exactly how much of an impact they will have on us when they wake up.



A domestic research team has released analysis results showing that bacteria in the permafrost can damage crops. The



Polar Research Institute (Director Shin Hyeong-cheol) announced research results showing that pathogens can wake up and damage crops when the Arctic permafrost melts due to climate change.



It is divided into the active layer (A), transition layer (T), and permafrost layer (P). A small number of bacteria are dormant (left). After thawing, Pseudomonas bacteria were revived and their numbers increased and movement was confirmed (right). [Photo = Polar Research Institute]



The Polar Research Institute's research team of Dr. Kim Deok-gyu, Dr. Kim Min-cheol, and Dr. Lee Young-mi conducted a simulation experiment to find out whether climate change will wake up pathogens sleeping in the permafrost and whether the awakened pathogens will be pathogenic.



The research team transported soil collected from the Council area of ​​the Seward Peninsula in northwestern Alaska to the laboratory, created an environment where the frozen soil was thawing, and observed bacterial changes for 90 days.



Based on whether it was frozen or not, it was divided into the active layer that was melted from the top, the transition layer that was frozen and then thawed, and the permafrost layer that was not thawed. The number of bacteria increased in the transition layer and the permafrost layer, and the community structure also changed.



The strains of the genus Pseudomonas buried in the permafrost were found to cause potato soft rot. They are known as pathogens that infect fruits and vegetables in mid-latitude regions. This experiment confirmed their existence in the transition layer and permafrost layer of the Arctic tundra.



The results of the study showed that the strains of the genus Pseudomonas were not infectious because they were small in number and dormant at low temperatures, but in an environment where the frozen soil was thawing, the plant pathogenic strains were revived, became infectious, and the number of individuals increased.



Potatoes grow relatively well even in poor soil, so they were selected as a subject for the experiment considering the expansion of the area where they can be cultivated due to global warming.



A research team at the Korea Polar Research Institute is collecting permafrost from the Alaskan tundra in the Arctic. [Photo = Korea Polar Research Institute]



This study (paper title: Potential risks of bacterial plant pathogens from thawing permafrost in the Alaskan tundra) was published last month in the international academic journal in the fields of toxicology and environmental safety, 'Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety.'



Shin Hyeong-cheol, director of the Korea Polar Research Institute, said, "The microorganisms that will awaken as the Arctic permafrost melts are certainly a concern, but the risks are not yet sufficiently understood scientifically." He added, "In order to preemptively respond to potential threats, we will continue to track the dormancy and activation of plant pathogens in the Arctic field and laboratory."





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