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Geomicrobial dynamics of Trans-Himalayan sulfur–borax spring system reveals mesophilic bacteria’s resilience to high heat

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Abstract

Geomicrobiology of sulfur–boron-dominated, neutral-pH hydrothermal systems was revealed in a Trans-Himalayan spring named Lotus Pond, located at 4436 m, in Puga Valley, Ladakh (India), where water boils at 85°C. Water sampled along Lotus Pond’s outflow (vent to an adjacent river called Rulang), representing an 85–14°C gradient, had high microbial diversity and boron/chloride/sodium/sulfate/thiosulfate concentration; potassium/silicon/sulfide/sulfite was moderately abundant, whereas cesium/lithium small but definite. Majority of the bacterial genera identified in the 85–72°C samples have no laboratory-growth reported at >45°C, and some of those mesophiles were culturable. Sulfur-species concentration and isotope-ratio along the hydrothermal gradient, together with the distribution of genera having sulfur-oxidizing members, indicated chemolithotrophic activities in the 85–72°C sites. While biodiversity increased in the vent-to-river trajectory all-day, maximum rise was invariably between the vent (85–81°C) and the 78–72°C site; below 72°C, diversity increased gradually. Biodiversity of the vent-water exhibited diurnal fluxes relatable to the sub-surface-processes-driven temporal fluxes in physicochemical properties of the discharge. Snow-melts infiltrating (via tectonic faults) the ~160°C geothermal reservoir located within the breccia, at ~450 m depth, apparently transport mesophilic microbes into the thermal waters. As these micro-organisms emanate with the vent-water, some remain alive, illustrating that natural bacterial populations are more heat-resilient than their laboratory counterparts.

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Abbreviations

HTP:

Highest temperature point

MTP:

Moderately-high temperature point

LTP:

Lowest temperature point

RVW:

River water

ICPMS:

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

VCDT:

Vienna Canyon Diablo Troilite

IAEA:

International Atomic Energy Agency

EDTA:

Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid

PCR:

Polymerase chain reaction

OTUs:

Operational taxonomic units

RDP:

Ribosomal Database Project

R2A:

Reasoner’s 2A

MMST:

Modified basal mineral salt medium supplemented with thiosulfate

LB:

Luria broth

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Acknowledgements

This research was financed by Bose Institute as well as Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Government of India (GoI) (SERB grant numbers SR/FT/LS-204/2009 and EMR/2016/002703). Sri Pankaj Kumar Ghosh (Chinsurah, West Bengal, India) provided additional travel grants for field expeditions. CR and NM received fellowships from University Grants Commission, GoI and SERB, GoI, respectively. On-field assistance provided by Baishali Ghosh, Asgar Ali, Rimjhim Bhattacherjee, Srabana Bhattacherjee, Bikash Jana, Lotus Sonam and Amrit Pal Singh, over the decade-long exploration of the Puga geothermal area, is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, Bose Institute, P-1/12 CIT Scheme VII M, Kolkata, 700 054, India

    Chayan Roy, Nibendu Mondal, Prabir Kumar Haldar, Nilanjana Nandi, Tannisha Bhattacharya & Wriddhiman Ghosh

  2. Gas Hydrate Research Group, Geological Oceanography, CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa, 403 004, India

    Aditya Peketi, Svetlana Fernandes, Samida Prabhakar Volvoikar & Aninda Mazumdar

  3. ARC CoE for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers, School of Mathematical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia

    Tarunendu Mapder

  4. Department of Biotechnology, University of North Bengal, Siliguri, West Bengal, 734 013, India

    Ranadhir Chakraborty

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  1. Chayan Roy
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Roy, C., Mondal, N., Peketi, A. et al. Geomicrobial dynamics of Trans-Himalayan sulfur–borax spring system reveals mesophilic bacteria’s resilience to high heat. J Earth Syst Sci 129, 157 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-020-01423-y

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