Thaumarchaeal ammonium oxidation and evidence for a nitrogen cycle in a subsurface radioactive thermal spring in the Austrian Central Alps.

ABSTRACT: Previous studies had suggested the presence of ammonium oxidizing Thaumarchaeota as well as nitrite oxidizing Bacteria in the subsurface spring called Franz Josef Quelle (FJQ), a slightly radioactive thermal mineral spring with a temperature of 43.6-47°C near the alpine village of Bad Gastein, Austria. The microbiological consortium of the FJQ was investigated for its utilization of nitrogen compounds and the putative presence of a subsurface nitrogen cycle. Microcosm experiments made with samples from the spring water, containing planktonic microorganisms, or from biofilms, were used in this study. Three slightly different media, enriched with vitamins and trace elements, and two incubation temperatures (30 and 40°C, respectively) were employed. Under aerobic conditions, high rates of con

SUBMITTER: Gerbl FW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4032944 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature