A review of the microbiology of the Rehai geothermal field in Tengchong,Yunnan Province,China

The Rehai Geothermal Field, located in Tengchong County, in central-western Yunnan Prov- ince, is the largest and most intensively studied geothermal field in China. A wide physicochemical diversity of springs （ambient to -97 ℃; pH from 〈1.8 to≥9.3） provides a multitude of niches for extremophilic microorganisms. A variety of studies have focused on the cultivation, identification, basic physiology, taxonomy, and biotechnological potential of thermophilic microorganisms from Rehai. Ther- mophilic bacteria isolated from Rehai belong to the phyla Firmicutes and Deinococcus-Thermus. Firmicutes include neutrophilic or alkaliphilic Anoxybacillus, Bacillus, Caldalkalibacillus, Caldanaerobacter, Laceyella, and Geobacillus, as well as thermoacidophilic Alicyclobacillus and Sulfobacillus. Isolates from the Deinococcus-Thermus phylum include several Meiothermus and Thermus species. Many of these bacteria synthesize thermostable polymer-degrading enzymes that may be useful for biotech- nology. The thermoacidophilic archaea Acidianus, Metallosphaera, and Sulfolobus have also been isolated and studied. A few studies have reported the isolation of thermophilic viruses belonging to Siphoviridae （TTSP4 and TTSP10） and Fuselloviridae （STSV1） infecting Thermus spp. and Sulfolobus spp., respectively. More recently, cultivation-independent studies using 16S rRNA gene sequences, shotgun metagenomics, or ＂＇functional gene＂ sequences have revealed a mtlch broader diversity of micro- organisms than represented in culture. Studies of the gene and mRNA encoding 113e large subunit of the ammonia monooxygenase （amoA） of ammonia-oxidizing Archaea （AOA） and the tetraether lipid cre- narchaeol, a potential hiomarker for AOA, suggest a wide diversity, but possibly low abundance, of ther- mophilic AOA in Rehai. Finally, we introduce the Tengchong Partnerships in International Research and Education （P1RE） project, an international collaboration between Chinese and U.S. scientists with the goal of promoting international and interdisciplinary cooperation to gain a more holistic and gh〉bal view of life in te^estrial geothermal springs.

Microbial diversity in two cold springs on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

The microbial diversity in Wuli Area, Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau was investigated using 16S rRNA gene phylogenetic analyses. A total of 117 bacterial and 66 archaeal 16S rRNA gene clones were obtained from the Wuli cold springs, The bacterial clones could be classified into Proteobacteria, Acid- obacteria, Deinococci, Sphingobacteria, Flavobacteria, Nitrospirae, Actinobacteria, Gemmatimona- detes, and unclassified-bacteria; and the archaeal clones could be classified into Crenarchaeota and Thaumarchaeota. Among the major groups, Proteobacteria and Crenarchaeota were dominant in the bacterial and archaeal 16S rRNA gene clone libraries, respectively. The clone sequences obtained in Wuli cold springs were closely related to those from cold habitats, such as snow/ice/soils on high mountains or at high latitude. Especially, the microbial community composition of Wuli Area was more similar to that in Tibetan glaciers than cold environments of other locations. The data presented in this study have impli- cations for a better understanding of microbial diversity in cold springs on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

Distinguishing ectomycorrhizal and saprophytic fungi using carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions

Ectomycorrhizal fungi, a group of widespread symbiotic fungi with plant, obtain carbon source from trees and improve plant mineral nutrient uptake with their widespread hyphal network. Ectomycorrhizal fungi can be used as inoculants to improve the survival rates of plantation. Saprophytic fungi use the nutrition from the debris of plant or animals, and it is difficult to distinguish the saprophytic and ectomycorrhizal fungi by morphological and anatomic methods. In this research, the differences of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions of these fungi were analyzed. The results showed that the abundances of 13C of were higher than those of ectomycorrhizal fungi and the abundances of 15N of saprophytic fungi were lower than those of ectomycorrhizal fungi. Such differences of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions between ectomycorrhizal fungi and saprophytic fungi can be ascribed to their different nutrition sources and ecological functions. These results collectively indicate that stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions are an effective proxy for distinguishing between ectomycorrhizal and saprophytic fungi.

Co-occurrence of nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane oxidizing and anaerobic ammonia oxidizing bacteria in two Qinghai-Tibetan saline lakes

Nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane-oxidiz- ing （n-damo） bacteria and anaerobic ammonia oxidizing （anammox） bacteria are two groups of microorganisms involved in global carbon and nitrogen cycling. In order to test whether the n-damo and anammox bacteria co-occur in natural saline environments, the DNA and cDNA samples obtained from the surficial sediments of two saline lakes （with salinity of 32 and 84 g/L, respectively） on the Tibetan Plateau were PCR-amplified with the use of anammox- and n-damo-specific primer sets, followed by clone library construction and phylogenetic analysis. DNA and cDNA- based clones affiliated with n-damo and anammox bacteria were successfully retrieved from the two samples, indicating that these two groups of bacteria can co-occur in natural saline environments with salinity as high as 84g/L. Our finding has great implications for our understanding of the global carbon and nitrogen cycle in nature.

Microbial diversity accumulates in a downstream direction in the Three Gorges Reservoir

Organic and inorganic materials migrate downstream and have important roles in regulating environmental health in the river networks.However,it remains unclear whether and how a mixture of materials(i.e.,microbial species)from various upstream habitats contribute to microbial community coalescence upstream of a dam.Here we track the spatial variation in microbial abundance and diversity in the Three Gorges Reservoir based on quantitative PCR and 16 S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing data.We further quantitatively assess the relative contributions of microbial species from mainstem,its tributaries,and the surrounding riverbank soils to the area immediately upstream of the Three Gorges Dam(TGD).We found an increase of microbial diversity and the convergent microbial distribution pattern in areas immediately upstream of TGD,suggesting this area become a new confluence for microbial diversity immigrating from upstream.Indeed,the number of shared species increased from upstream to TGD but unique species decreased,indicating immigration of various sources of microbial species overwhelms local environmental conditions in structuring microbial community close to TGD.By quantifying the sources of microbial species close to TGD,we found little contribution from soils as compared to tributaries,especially for sites closer to TGD,suggesting tributary microbes have greater influence on microbial diversity and environmental health in the Three Gorges Reservoir.Collectively,our results suggest that tracking microbial geographic origin and evaluating accumulating effects of microbial diversity shed light on the ecological processes in microbial communities and provide information for regulating aquatic ecological health.