Publication Date:
2012-02-18
Description:
Publication year: 2011 Source: Geoscience Frontiers, Available online 17 December 2011 Brian P. Hedlund, Jessica K. Colea, Amanda J. Williams, Weiguo Hou, Enmin Zhou, ... The Rehai Geothermal Field, located in Tengchong County, in central-western Yunnan Province, is the largest and most intensively studied geothermal field in China. A wide physicochemical diversity of springs (ambient to ∼97°C; pH ≤1.8 to ≥9.3) provides a multitude of niches for extremophilic microorganisms. A variety of studies have focused on the cultivation, identification, basic physiology, taxonomy, and biotechnological potential of thermophilic microorganisms from Rehai. Thermophilic bacteria isolated from Rehai belong to the phylaFirmicutesandDeinococcus-Thermus.Firmicutesinclude neutrophilic or alkaliphilicAnoxybacillus,Bacillus,Caldalkalibacillus,Caldanaerobacter,Laceyella,andGeobacillus, as well as thermoacidophilicAlicyclobacillusandSulfobacillus.Isolates from theDeinococcus-Thermusphylum include severalMeiothermusandThermusspecies. Many of these bacteria synthesize thermostable polymer-degrading enzymes that may be useful for biotechnology. The thermoacidophilic archaeaAcidianus,Metallosphaera, andSulfolobushave also been isolated and studied. A few studies have reported the isolation of thermophilic viruses belonging toSiphoviridae(TTSP4 and TTSP10) andFuselloviridae(STSV1) infectingThermusspp. andSulfolobusspp., respectively. More recently, cultivation-independent studies using 16S rRNA gene sequences, shotgun metagenomics, or “functional gene” sequences have revealed a much broader diversity of microorganisms than represented in culture. Studies of the gene and mRNA encoding the large subunit of the ammonia monooxygenase (amoA) of ammonia-oxidizing Archaea (AOA) and the tetraether lipid crenarchaeol, a potential biomarker for AOA, suggest a wide diversity, but possibly low abundance, of thermophilic AOA in Rehai. Finally, we introduce the Tengchong Partnerships in International Research and Education (PIRE) project, an international collaboration between Chinese and U.S. scientists with the goal of promoting international and interdisciplinary cooperation to gain a more holistic and global view of life in terrestrial geothermal springs.
Print ISSN:
1674-9871
Topics:
Geosciences
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