! "#$#% &’(# )&"*+&, "--.*+ /- +& 0,&"+ &1 *&* 2+ / 30/1+ &"*" & -+*&0+-" *.14 &&, -5& .&& 6 +5-& &. &4+5 .*5.-&& )5&74& 3&"5&*5 ,,4 ,- 8 0 &4&&*5 % &1 &--& 5, ( abcefgh Department of Marine Biology, Microbiology & Biochemistry, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin, India d National Centre for Aquatic Animal Health, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi&16, Kerala, India f Fishery Survey of India, Mormugao, Zonal Base, Vasco da Gama, Goa, India &)*&"* & %# #8 $9#’ 9$# ’ # ’:’ 6#;< # 6#%#(9! <! #9$ 9# ( $ =!< 6’ # ;#’ $(<! *( $ ’< 8#’ # #9 #8 ( 6! #99’ ;#!; ( 6#%#(9! <! 3#%8># ( #8 & ’8 = 9$! = #!! 8#9 %! # ?# #8 3#%8># & :’! 9’!% $8!# #8 = 9$! = #’ # $ #’ ( 6! 8# 8#!!#= 6< 9%#9 1& @# 1& 9$!8# ;! ( $ #8 99# #@?% 6 9(#% 6 ( " $$#( @$# ( #’ #8 ’!$( ’% 6 8<% 6 $; #8 $ 1’!$(#6’!6 $ $ 1’!$(#6 $ = 8#9 6#( %! # ?# #8 & *( ’< #88 $#8! #8 6! ;< $#6! 8# 9#’!% 9#6! ; $# ’( ’!$( ’# 99# #@# #% 8@# & %# ’( 8’9! ’ ’! 8# 9$#;% ( A#=!% =( 8 # #99’< #9$## $#! 9 %# =(( ’!< 6% ( 6’ #8 !9 (% 3+4B1 Arctic; Kongsfjorden; Metagenomics; Marine Bacteria; Sulphate Reducing Bacteria. Even though smaller in size, the role of microbial communities along the ecosystems is inevitable. Present status of our planet is a cumulative effect from various activities of early microbes which played crucial role in planetary as well as biological evolution. Based on the adaptability to various physico&chemical features, microbes endure and contribute themselves as mineralizers and recyclers of essential in biogeochemical cycles. Unique ability of marine microbes also facilitates smooth functioning of nutrient cycles which are unfeasible with other organisms. Moreover, metabolic capabilities of marine microbes can also be exploited for biotechnological applications such as manufacturing industrial energy products (Madhavan et al., 2017) and they also serve as rich source of novel bioactive compounds which can be used as pharmaceuticals. Microbial populations inhabited in extreme marine environments with high rate of adaptations are reported to play significant role in balancing the ecosystem (Zahran, 1997). Even though viruses are the abundant life forms, bacterial communities overrule almost all the metabolic and ecological pathways in polar ecosystem. Polar bacterial communities exhibit uniqueness over other microbial forms due to rare and diverse physiological and biochemical properties. Nevertheless microbes are the most abundant biological entities in the biosphere, their discovery and analysis cannot be properly attained due to the confines in culture dependent techniques. Though marine microbial exploration is a thorny area of research, innovative ideas and emergence of new tools in genomics as well as metagenomics enhance prospects for exploring enormous diversity of marine microbial communities (Handelsman, 2004; Kennedy et al., 2010; Zielinska et al., 2017). To circumvent the difficulties of culture based techniques, metagenomic approach was enabled for the exposure of micro fauna from fjord environment. Monitoring of fjord bacterial community ensures us to study their ecological role in various biogeochemical cycles and in global climatic change. Arctic Ocean is encircled by relatively large land masses and influenced by the influx from land as well as Pacific / Atlantic Oceans; hence the microbial flora depends on polar and non&polar entities (Galand, 2009). Atlantic waters contributing the terrestrial inflow revise the fjord environment to a great extent. Nevertheless, both glacial input and structure of fjord contributing the remoteness from the coast gradually keep the inner fjord more Arctic (Hop et al., 2002). The present study focused on Kongsfjorden, Arctic, one of the largest fjords of Svalbard Archipelago which is highly influenced by afflux and other anthropogenic actions, but less studied. This work strives to delineate the bacterial communities along