Effects of abiotic factors on the phylogenetic diversity of bacterial communities in acidic thermal springs.

ABSTRACT: Acidic thermal springs offer ideal environments for studying processes underlying extremophile microbial diversity. We used a carefully designed comparative analysis of acidic thermal springs in Yellowstone National Park to determine how abiotic factors (chemistry and temperature) shape acidophile microbial communities. Small-subunit rRNA gene sequences were PCR amplified, cloned, and sequenced, by using evolutionarily conserved bacterium-specific primers, directly from environmental DNA extracted from Amphitheater Springs and Roaring Mountain sediment samples. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and colorimetric assays were used to analyze sediment chemistry, while an optical emission spectrometer was used to evaluate water chemistry and electronic probes were used to

SUBMITTER: Mathur J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1855587 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature