Microbial Community Structure Analysis of Blood Pond Hell Hot Spring in Japan and Search for Metal-Reducing Microbes

Abstract

Blood Pond Hell (Chinoike Jigoku) is located in the hot spring town of Beppu, in Kyushu Island of Japan, and features a unique hot, acidic, red-coloured pond. This study aimed to investigate the microbial diversity in this unique extreme environment and eventually to isolate useful acidophilic microbes. The initial PCR (using bacteria-or archaea-specific primers) on environmental samples detected the presence of bacteria, but not archaea. The following random sequencing analysis confirmed the presence of a large bacterial diversity at the site (123 clones comprising 18 bacterial and 1 archaeal genera), including those closely related to known autotrophic and heterotrophic acidophiles ( Acidithiobacillus sp., Sulfobacillus sp., Alicyclobacillus sp.). Nonetheless, successive enrichment cultivation with Fe (III) under oxygen depletion lead to isolation of previously non-detected archaeal ( Sulfolobus sp.) colonies on solid media. Two isolates showing Fe (III) reduction ability were named Sulfolobus sp. GA1 and GA2. The isolates were also found to reduce highly toxic Cr (VI) to less toxic/soluble Cr (III), demonstrating their potential utility in metal bioremediation.

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DOI

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.1130.45

Journal

Advanced Materials Research

Year

2015