Abundance and observations of thermophilic microbial and viral communities in submarine and terrestrial hot fluid systems of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands

• Published in: Polar Biology
• Main Authors: Parikka, Kaarle, Jacquet, Stéphan, Colombet, Jonathan, Guillaume, Damien, Le Romancer, Marc
• Other Authors: Centre Alpin de Recherche sur les Réseaux Trophiques et Ecosystèmes Limniques (CARRTEL), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry ), Laboratoire Microorganismes : Génome et Environnement (LMGE), Université Blaise Pascal - Clermont-Ferrand 2 (UBP)-Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I (UdA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans (LMV), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne (UJM)-Université Clermont Auvergne 2017-2020 (UCA 2017-2020 )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire de Physique du Globe de Clermont-Ferrand (OPGC), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Clermont Auvergne 2017-2020 (UCA 2017-2020 )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Clermont Auvergne 2017-2020 (UCA 2017-2020 )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Microbiologie des Environnements Extrêmophiles (LM2E), Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Ministere de l'Enseignement Superieur et de la Recherche doctoral-grant; IPEV (the French Polar Institute Paul-Emile Victor) 408; CAREX
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2018
• Subjects: abundance; thermophilic; virus-like particle; flow cytometry; epifluorescence microscopy; hot spring; [SDV.MP.BAC]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Microbiology and Parasitology/Bacteriology; Antarctic; Antarc*; Polar Biology
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-01931282; https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-018-2288-3

International audience Studies investigating viral ecology have mainly been conducted in temperate marine and freshwater habitats. Fewer reports are available on the often less accessible "extreme environments" such as hot springs. This study investigated prokaryotic- and virus-like particles (VLP) associated to hot springs, themselves situated in cold environments of the Southern Hemisphere (i.e. in the French Southern and Antarctic Lands). This was performed by examining their abundance in hot springs and surrounding temperate seawater using both epifluorescence microscopy (EFM) and flow cytometry (FCM), which was applied for the first time to such ecosystems. On one hand, prokaryotic abundances of 4.0 x 10(5)-2.2 x 10(6) cell mL(-1) and 7.0 x 10(4)-2.8 x 10(6) cell mL(-1) were measured using EFM and FCM, respectively. The abundances of virus-like particles (VLP), on the other hand, ranged between 9.8 x 10(5) and 7.5 x 10(6) particles mL(-1) when using EFM, and between 1.3 x 10(5) and 6.2 x 10(6) particles mL(-1) when FCM was applied. A positive correlation was found between VLP and prokaryotic abundances, while the virus-to-prokaryote ratio was generally low and ranged between 0.1 and 6. In parallel, samples and culture supernatants were also visualised using transmission electron microscopy. For this, enrichment cultures were prepared using environmental samples. Both raw sample and enrichment culture-supernatants were analysed for the presence of VLPs. Observations revealed the presence of Caudovirales, membrane vesicles and possibly a new type of virion morphology, associated to members of the order Thermotogales, a thermophilic and anaerobic bacterium.