Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42082533›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2026

Metagenomic analysis of bacterial diversity, antibiotic resistance, and functional profiles in the ice core samples from two glaciers of Sikkim Himalaya.

Sonia Tamang, Mingma Thundu Sherpa, Ishfaq Nabi Najar, Santosh Kumar, Sayak Das, Prayatna Sharma, Nandita Das, Rajarshi Chowdhury, Rajnanda Thaosen, Rakesh Kumar Ranjan and 2 more

Abstract read
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Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Sonia Tamang *Department of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Sikkim University, Tadong, Gangtok, 737102, Sikkim, India.
Mingma Thundu Sherpa *Department of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Sikkim University, Tadong, Gangtok, 737102, Sikkim, India.
Ishfaq Nabi Najar *Department of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Sikkim University, Tadong, Gangtok, 737102, Sikkim, India.
Santosh KumarDepartment of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Sikkim University, Tadong, Gangtok, 737102, Sikkim, India.
Sayak DasDepartment of Life Science and Bioinformatics, School of Life Sciences, Har Gobind Khurana, Assam University, Silchar, 788011, Assam, India.
Prayatna SharmaDepartment of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Sikkim University, Tadong, Gangtok, 737102, Sikkim, India.
Nandita DasDepartment of Microbiology, Har Gobind Khurana School of Life Sciences, Assam University, Silchar, 788011, Assam, India.
Rajarshi ChowdhuryDepartment of Microbiology, Har Gobind Khurana School of Life Sciences, Assam University, Silchar, 788011, Assam, India.
Rajnanda ThaosenDepartment of Microbiology, Har Gobind Khurana School of Life Sciences, Assam University, Silchar, 788011, Assam, India.
Rakesh Kumar RanjanDepartment of Geology, School of Physical Sciences, Sikkim University, Tadong, Gangtok, 737102, Sikkim, India.
Piyush PandeyDepartment of Microbiology, Har Gobind Khurana School of Life Sciences, Assam University, Silchar, 788011, Assam, India. piyushddn@gmail.com.
Nagendra ThakurDepartment of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Sikkim University, Tadong, Gangtok, 737102, Sikkim, India. nthakur@cus.in.

Funding

Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, India BT/PR41644/NER/95/1718/2021
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Glaciers cover a substantial portion of the world and are home to various biological populations. The Himalayas constitute the largest glaciated region outside the poles; hence, they are regarded as "The Third Pole" of the World. There are around 84 glaciers in the Teesta basin (Sikkim Himalaya). There is substantially less data available on the microbial diversity embedded in the glacial ice core samples of the Sikkim Himalaya, as well as their physico-chemistry and potential geomorphological hazards related to their retreat or decrease in snow-line cover. The present study aims to evaluate the microbial diversity in the glacier ice core region and the study area; therefore, two glaciers in the Sikkim Himalaya were chosen: Frey-Peak and Rathong Glacier. The bacterial diversity analysis reveals the prevalence of various phyla, including Pseudomonadota, Actinomycetota, Bacillota, and Bacteroidota. The random forest model reveals the significant contributions of various elements, including Na, Mg, K, Ca, and Zn, to the alpha diversity of the studied glaciers. Among physicochemical parameters, pH was found to contribute the most in shaping bacterial diversity. Cluster of Orthologous Groups (COG) analysis underscored a predominance of genes associated with amino acids (23.5%), carbohydrates (18.93%), lipids (10.88%), energy (17.26%), coenzymes (9.38%), and ion transport/metabolism (14.71%). KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) Orthology (KO) analysis revealed the presence of 4,915 to 96,954 genes. Interestingly, the metagenomic analysis revealed the presence of specific species of Bradyrhizobium, Beijerinckia, Burkholderia, and Corynebacterium, which are associated with nitrogen metabolism, suggesting their potential involvement in biogeochemical processes. Additionally, a total of 59 to 419 bacterial genes related to sulphur metabolism were deduced through the KEGG functional analysis. The study detected the presence of various antibiotic resistance genes corresponding to different classes of antibiotics, including aminoglycoside, tetracycline, fluoroquinolone, macrolide, and erythromycin. Network analysis reveals that antibiotic resistance genes primarily interact with the phyla Pseudomonadota, Bacillota, and Actinomycetota. The melting of glaciers, a significant effect of climate change, may release contaminants, antibiotic resistance genes, and pathogenic bacteria into free-flowing rivers, potentially impacting human health.

Indexed as

BacteriaDrug Resistance, BacterialDrug Resistance, MicrobialIce CoverMetagenomeMetagenomicsBiodiversityHimalayasPhylogenySikkimAntibiotic resistanceGlaciersMetagenomicsPsychrophilesSikkim HimalayasXenobiotics

Identifiers

PMID42082533
PMCPMC13187067

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