Diversity, distribution and organic substrates preferences of microbial communities of a low anthropic activity cave in North-Western Romania.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Karst caves are characterized by relatively constant temperature, lack of light, high humidity, and low nutrients availability. The diversity and functionality of the microorganisms dwelling in caves micro-habitats are yet underexplored. Therefore, in-depth investigations of these ecosystems aid in enlarging our understanding of the microbial interactions and microbially driven biogeochemical cycles. Here, we aimed at evaluating the diversity, abundance, distribution, and organic substrate preferences of microbial communities from Peștera cu Apă din Valea Leșului (Leșu Cave) located in the Apuseni Mountains (North-Western Romania).

Materials and methods

To achieve this goal, we employed 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and community-level physiological profilin

SUBMITTER: Bogdan DF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9941645 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature