Diversity and Distribution of Thermophilic Bacteria in Hot Springs of Pakistan

• Published in: Microbial ecology 2017-07, Vol.74 (1), p.116-127
• Main Authors: Amin, Arshia, Ahmed, Iftikhar, Salam, Nimaichand, Kim, Byung-Yong, Singh, Dharmesh, Zhi, Xiao-Yang, Xiao, Min, Li, Wen-Jun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Annealing; Bacteria; Bicarbonates; Biogeography; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Carbonates; Chloroflexi - classification; Chloroflexi - isolation & purification; Communities; Deep water; Distribution; Ecological monitoring; Ecology; ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY; Enzymes; Fields; Geoecology/Natural Processes; Geothermal springs; Growth; High temperature; Hot springs; Hot Springs - microbiology; Hot Temperature; Hydrothermal fields; Interactions; Laboratories; Life Sciences; Mantle; Microbial activity; Microbial Ecology; Microbiology; Microorganisms; Mineralogy; Nature Conservation; Pakistan; Parameters; Physicochemical processes; Physicochemical properties; Polls & surveys; Proteobacteria - classification; Proteobacteria - isolation & purification; Silica; Silicon dioxide; Spring; Spring (season); Structures; Sulfates; Sulfur; Sulfur-reducing bacteria; Sulfur-Reducing Bacteria - classification; Sulfur-Reducing Bacteria - isolation & purification; Sulphates; Surveying; Taxa; Temperature; Temperature effects; Thermophilic bacteria; Thrust; Water; Water Quality/Water Pollution; Water springs
• ISSN: 0095-3628; 1432-184X
• DOI: 10.1007/s00248-017-0930-1

Chilas and Hunza areas, located in the Main Mantle Thrust and Main Karakoram Thrust of the Himalayas, host a range of geochemically diverse hot springs. This Himalayan geothermal region encompassed hot springs ranging in temperature from 60 to 95 °C, in pH from 6.2 to 9.4, and in mineralogy from bicarbonates (Tato Field), sulfates (Tatta Pani) to mixed type (Murtazaabad). Microbial community structures in these geothermal springs remained largely unexplored to date. In this study, we report a comprehensive, culture-independent survey of microbial communities in nine samples from these geothermal fields by employing a barcoded pyrosequencing technique. The bacterial phyla Proteobacteria and Chloroflexi were dominant in all samples from Tato Field, Tatta Pani, and Murtazaabad. The community structures however depended on temperature, pH, and physicochemical parameters of the geothermal sites. The Murtazaabad hot springs with relatively higher temperature (90–95 °C) favored the growth of phylum Thermotogae, whereas the Tatta Pani thermal spring site TP-H3-b (60 °C) favored the phylum Proteobacteria. At sites with low silica and high temperature, OTUs belonging to phylum Chloroflexi were dominant. Deep water areas of the Murtazaabad hot springs favored the sulfur-reducing bacteria. About 40% of the total OTUs obtained from these samples were unclassified or uncharacterized, suggesting the presence of many undiscovered and unexplored microbiota. This study has provided novel insights into the nature of ecological interactions among important taxa in these communities, which in turn will help in determining future study courses in these sites.