冰川环境具有剧烈的季节性变化特征，并赋予了其中微生物特殊的物种、遗传和代谢多样性。基于非培养方法的研究表明降雪、水文、温度、沉降物等对冰川细菌群落具有一定影响，但缺乏可培养细菌在分类学和功能水平的直接证据。冰川细菌如何响应季节变化并适应低温、光照等极端条件，目前也并不明确。本团队发现不同类型冰川来源的Flavobacterium spp. 具有温度耐受性差异，部分菌株具有光促生长现象。因此，本项目将以冰川Flavobacterium spp. 为出发点，利用多相分类学、群体比较基因组学和转录组学方法分析其种群结构及其对冰川低温、光照等环境适应的分子机制，找到适应性变异的关键基因；选择不同类型代表冰川进行细菌群落结构季节性动态及变化规律的研究，并利用宏基因组学方法，探寻关键基因在冰川环境中的遗传多样性及生态功能。最终在群落-种群-基因三个层次阐明冰川细菌生态系统响应环境变化的机制。

Glacier environment with substantial seasonal variations is an integral force in the diversification and specialization of microbes at species, genetics and metabolism level. The bacterial communities on glaciers could be affected by precipitation, dry deposition, temperature and hydrology which were proved by some non-culture-based studies. However, there are no direct evidences of pure culture collections at the taxonomical and founctional level. How do the glacier bacteria respond to environmental changes and adapt to low-temperature and high solar radiation? It is still an open question. Our group found different temperature tolerances between Flavobacterium isolates from cold glaciers and warm glaciers. We also found that some strains showed light-enhanced growth. In this project, in order to describe the population structure, reveal the molecular mechanism of environmental adaptation and find the key genes, taxonomy, population genomics and transcriptomics of the cold-adapted Flavobacterium spp. from glaciers will be carried out. Meanwhile, different types of glaciers will be selected to analyze the seasonal dynamic of glacier bacterial community. By using metagenomics, the phylogenetic diversity and ecological functions of the key genes on the glaciers surface will be explored. Finally, the response of bacteria ecosystem to the glacier surface environmental changes will be revealed at community, population and gene level.