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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 2005, p. 7164-7171, Vol. 71, No. 11
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.11.7164-7171.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Algal Species and Light Microenvironment in a Low-pH, Geothermal Microbial Mat Community

M. J. Ferris,1,2* K. B. Sheehan,1,3 M. Kühl,4 K. Cooksey,1 B. Wigglesworth-Cooksey,1 R. Harvey,5 and J. M. Henson1

Microbiology Department and Thermal Biology Institute, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana 59717,1 Research Institute for Children, Departments of Pediatrics and Microbiology, LSUHSC, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118,2 Montana State University, Division of Health Sciences, Bozeman, Montana 59717,3 Marine Biology Laboratory, Institute of Biology, University of Copenhagen, DK-3000 Helsingør, Denmark,4 Biology Department, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 701185

Received 27 October 2004/ Accepted 1 July 2005

Unicellular algae are the predominant microbial mat-forming phototrophs in the extreme environments of acidic geothermal springs. The ecology of these algae is not well known because concepts of species composition are inferred from cultivated isolates and microscopic observations, methods known to provide incomplete and inaccurate assessments of species in situ. We used sequence analysis of 18S rRNA genes PCR amplified from mat samples from different seasons and different temperatures along a thermal gradient to identify algae in an often-studied acidic (pH 2.7) geothermal creek in Yellowstone National Park. Fiber-optic microprobes were used to show that light for algal photosynthesis is attenuated to <1% over the 1-mm surface interval of the mat. Three algal sequences were detected, and each was present year-round. A Cyanidioschyzon merolae sequence was predominant at temperatures of ≥49°C. A Chlorella protothecoides var. acidicola sequence and a Paradoxia multisita-like sequence were predominant at temperatures of ≤39°C.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Research Institute for Children, R&E Building, Room 3211, 200 Henry Clay Ave., New Orleans, LA 70118. Phone: (504) 896-2736. Fax: (504) 894-5379. E-mail: mferris{at}chnola-research.org.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 2005, p. 7164-7171, Vol. 71, No. 11
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.11.7164-7171.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Rothschild, L. J (2008). The evolution of photosynthesis...again?. Phil Trans R Soc B 363: 2787-2801 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Toplin, J. A., Norris, T. B., Lehr, C. R., McDermott, T. R., Castenholz, R. W. (2008). Biogeographic and Phylogenetic Diversity of Thermoacidophilic Cyanidiales in Yellowstone National Park, Japan, and New Zealand. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 2822-2833 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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