Are thermophilic microorganisms active in cold?
The mean air temperature of the Icelandic interior is below 10 °C. However, we have previously observed 16S rDNA sequences associated with thermophilic lineages in Icelandic basalts. Measurements of the temperatures of igneous rocks in Iceland showed that solar insolation of these low albedo substra...
Published in: | International Journal of Astrobiology |
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Online Access: | https://oro.open.ac.uk/44950/ https://doi.org/10.1017/S1473550414000433 |
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ftopenunivgb:oai:oro.open.ac.uk:44950 2023-06-11T04:13:09+02:00 Are thermophilic microorganisms active in cold? Cockell, Charles S. Cousins, Claire Wilkinson, Paul T. Olsson-Francis, Karen Rozitis, Ben 2015-07 https://oro.open.ac.uk/44950/ https://doi.org/10.1017/S1473550414000433 unknown Cockell, Charles S.; Cousins, Claire; Wilkinson, Paul T. <http://oro.open.ac.uk/view/person/ptw45.html>; Olsson-Francis, Karen <http://oro.open.ac.uk/view/person/ko627.html> and Rozitis, Ben <http://oro.open.ac.uk/view/person/br2427.html> (2015). Are thermophilic microorganisms active in cold? International Journal of Astrobiology, 14(3) pp. 457–463. Journal Item None PeerReviewed 2015 ftopenunivgb https://doi.org/10.1017/S1473550414000433 2023-05-28T05:53:25Z The mean air temperature of the Icelandic interior is below 10 °C. However, we have previously observed 16S rDNA sequences associated with thermophilic lineages in Icelandic basalts. Measurements of the temperatures of igneous rocks in Iceland showed that solar insolation of these low albedo substrates achieved a peak surface temperature of 44.5 °C. We isolated seven thermophilic Geobacillus species from basalt with optimal growth temperatures of ~65 °C. The minimum growth temperature of these organisms was ~36 °C, suggesting that they could be active in the rock environment. Basalt dissolution rates at 40 °C were increased in the presence of one of the isolates compared to abiotic controls, showing its potential to be involved in active biogeochemistry at environmental temperatures. These data raise the possibility of transient active thermophilic growth in macroclimatically cold rocky environments, implying that the biogeographical distribution of active thermophiles might be greater than previously understood. These data show that temperatures measured or predicted over large scales on a planet are not in themselves adequate to assess niches available to extremophiles at micron scales. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland The Open University: Open Research Online (ORO) International Journal of Astrobiology 14 3 457 463 |
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Open Polar |
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The Open University: Open Research Online (ORO) |
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ftopenunivgb |
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description |
The mean air temperature of the Icelandic interior is below 10 °C. However, we have previously observed 16S rDNA sequences associated with thermophilic lineages in Icelandic basalts. Measurements of the temperatures of igneous rocks in Iceland showed that solar insolation of these low albedo substrates achieved a peak surface temperature of 44.5 °C. We isolated seven thermophilic Geobacillus species from basalt with optimal growth temperatures of ~65 °C. The minimum growth temperature of these organisms was ~36 °C, suggesting that they could be active in the rock environment. Basalt dissolution rates at 40 °C were increased in the presence of one of the isolates compared to abiotic controls, showing its potential to be involved in active biogeochemistry at environmental temperatures. These data raise the possibility of transient active thermophilic growth in macroclimatically cold rocky environments, implying that the biogeographical distribution of active thermophiles might be greater than previously understood. These data show that temperatures measured or predicted over large scales on a planet are not in themselves adequate to assess niches available to extremophiles at micron scales. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Cockell, Charles S. Cousins, Claire Wilkinson, Paul T. Olsson-Francis, Karen Rozitis, Ben |
spellingShingle |
Cockell, Charles S. Cousins, Claire Wilkinson, Paul T. Olsson-Francis, Karen Rozitis, Ben Are thermophilic microorganisms active in cold? |
author_facet |
Cockell, Charles S. Cousins, Claire Wilkinson, Paul T. Olsson-Francis, Karen Rozitis, Ben |
author_sort |
Cockell, Charles S. |
title |
Are thermophilic microorganisms active in cold? |
title_short |
Are thermophilic microorganisms active in cold? |
title_full |
Are thermophilic microorganisms active in cold? |
title_fullStr |
Are thermophilic microorganisms active in cold? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Are thermophilic microorganisms active in cold? |
title_sort |
are thermophilic microorganisms active in cold? |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://oro.open.ac.uk/44950/ https://doi.org/10.1017/S1473550414000433 |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_relation |
Cockell, Charles S.; Cousins, Claire; Wilkinson, Paul T. <http://oro.open.ac.uk/view/person/ptw45.html>; Olsson-Francis, Karen <http://oro.open.ac.uk/view/person/ko627.html> and Rozitis, Ben <http://oro.open.ac.uk/view/person/br2427.html> (2015). Are thermophilic microorganisms active in cold? International Journal of Astrobiology, 14(3) pp. 457–463. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/S1473550414000433 |
container_title |
International Journal of Astrobiology |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
457 |
op_container_end_page |
463 |
_version_ |
1768389838130642944 |