| Title |
Archaeal Distribution in Moonmilk Deposits from Alpine Caves and Their Ecophysiological Potential
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Microbial Ecology, January 2016
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s00248-015-0727-z |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Christoph Reitschuler, Christoph Spötl, Katrin Hofmann, Andreas O. Wagner, Paul Illmer |
| Abstract |
(Alpine) caves are, in general, windows into the Earth's subsurface. Frequently occurring structures in caves such as moonmilk (secondary calcite deposits) offer the opportunity to study intraterrestrial microbial communities, adapted to oligotrophic and cold conditions. This is an important research field regarding the dimensions of subsurface systems and cold regions on Earth. On a methodological level, moonmilk deposits from 11 caves in the Austrian Alps were collected aseptically and investigated using a molecular (qPCR and DGGE sequencing-based) methodology in order to study the occurrence, abundance, and diversity of the prevailing native Archaea community. Furthermore, these Archaea were enriched in complex media and studied regarding their physiology, with a media selection targeting different physiological requirements, e.g. methanogenesis and ammonia oxidation. The investigation of the environmental samples showed that all moonmilk deposits were characterized by the presence of the same few habitat-specific archaeal species, showing high abundances and constituting about 50 % of the total microbial communities. The largest fraction of these Archaea was ammonia-oxidizing Thaumarchaeota, while another abundant group was very distantly related to extremophilic Euryarchaeota (Moonmilk Archaea). The archaeal community showed a depth- and oxygen-dependent stratification. Archaea were much more abundant (around 80 %), compared to bacteria, in the actively forming surface part of moonmilk deposits, decreasing to about 5 % down to the bedrock. Via extensive cultivation efforts, it was possible to enrich the enigmatic Moonmilk Archaea and also AOA significantly above the level of bacteria. The most expedient prerequisites for cultivating Moonmilk Archaea were a cold temperature, oligotrophic conditions, short incubation times, a moonmilk surface inoculum, the application of erythromycin, and anaerobic (microaerophilic) conditions. On a physiological level, it seems that methanogenesis is of marginal importance, while ammonia oxidation and a still undiscovered metabolic pathway are vital elements in the (archaeal) moonmilk biome. |
X Demographics
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Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 1 | 33% |
| Unknown | 2 | 67% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 2 | 67% |
| Scientists | 1 | 33% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 34 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 1 | 3% |
| Canada | 1 | 3% |
| Unknown | 32 | 94% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Master | 6 | 18% |
| Researcher | 6 | 18% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 6 | 18% |
| Student > Bachelor | 3 | 9% |
| Professor | 1 | 3% |
| Other | 1 | 3% |
| Unknown | 11 | 32% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 7 | 21% |
| Environmental Science | 4 | 12% |
| Immunology and Microbiology | 4 | 12% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 3 | 9% |
| Earth and Planetary Sciences | 1 | 3% |
| Other | 2 | 6% |
| Unknown | 13 | 38% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 2. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 23 January 2016.
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#16,366,057
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Outputs from Microbial Ecology
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Outputs of similar age from Microbial Ecology
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