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Occurrence, diversity, and abundance of methanogenic archaea in terrestrial hot springs of Kamchatka and Saõ Miguel Island

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Abstract

Detection and analysis of the mcrA gene encoding methyl-coenzyme M reductase, the key enzyme of methanogenesis, was used to assess occurrence and diversity of methanogenic archaea in terrestrial hot springs of Kamchatka and Sa~o Miguel Island (the Azores). For this analysis, phylogeny of methanogens was initially reconstructed based on available sequences of the mcrA gene, which is a common functional and phylogenetic marker for this physiological group of prokaryotes. Methanogens were revealed in most of the studied terrestrial hot springs with temperatures from 51 to 89°C, although they constituted an insignificant portion of the microbial population. The mcrA gene sequences revealed in the samples belonged to members of the genera Methanothermobacter, Methanothermus, and Methanothrix, previously detected in hot springs, as well as to methanogens not found earlier in these environments. The latter belonged to Methanomassiliicoccales, Methanocellales, and Methanomethylovorans, as well as to MCR-2a, the new deep phylogenetic cluster of uncultured methanogenic archaea; its phylotypes were present in all springs where the mcrA gene was detected. Our results indicate high diversity of the thermophilic methanogens inhabiting terrestrial hot springs and the presence among them of new groups with yet unknown substrate specificity.

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  1. Winogradsky Institute of Microbiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, pr. 60-letiya Oktyabrya 7, k. 2, Moscow, 117312, Russia

    A. Y. Merkel, O. A. Podosokorskaya, N. A. Chernyh & E. A. Bonch-Osmolovskaya

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  1. A. Y. Merkel
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  2. O. A. Podosokorskaya
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  3. N. A. Chernyh
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  4. E. A. Bonch-Osmolovskaya
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Original Russian Text © A.Y. Merkel, O.A. Podosokorskaya, N.A. Chernyh, E.A. Bonch-Osmolovskaya, 2015, published in Mikrobiologiya, 2015, Vol. 84, No. 4, pp. 485–492.

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Merkel, A.Y., Podosokorskaya, O.A., Chernyh, N.A. et al. Occurrence, diversity, and abundance of methanogenic archaea in terrestrial hot springs of Kamchatka and Saõ Miguel Island. Microbiology 84, 577–583 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1134/S002626171504013X

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