Oxygen-dependent niche formation of a pyrite-dependent acidophilic consortium built by archaea and bacteria.

ABSTRACT: Biofilms can provide a number of different ecological niches for microorganisms. Here, a multispecies biofilm was studied in which pyrite-oxidizing microbes are the primary producers. Its stability allowed not only detailed fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)-based characterization of the microbial population in different areas of the biofilm but also to integrate these results with oxygen and pH microsensor measurements conducted before. The O2 concentration declined rapidly from the outside to the inside of the biofilm. Hence, part of the population lives under microoxic or anoxic conditions. Leptospirillum ferrooxidans strains dominate the microbial population but are only located in the oxic periphery of the snottite structure. Interestingly, archaea were identified only in the a

SUBMITTER: Ziegler S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3749503 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature