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Metabolically active Crenarchaeota in Altamira Cave

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Abstract

Altamira Cave contains valuable paleolithic paintings dating back to 15,000 years. The conservation of these unique paintings is attracting increasing interest, and so, understanding microbial proliferation in Altamira Cave represents a prioritary objective. Here, we show for the first time that members of the Crenarchaeota were metabolically active components of developing microbial communities. RNA was extracted directly from the studied environment, and a number of 16S rRNA gene sequences belonging to the low-temperature Crenarchaeota were detected. Although low-temperature Crenarchaeota detected in a variety of ecosystems by using molecular techniques remain uncultured, this RNA-based study confirms an active participation of the Crenarchaeota in cave biogeochemical cycles.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge support through a contract with the Ministry of Culture, and projects BTE2002-04492, REN2002-00041, and the Ramon y Cajal program from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (MEC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiologia, CSIC, Apartado 1052, 41080, Sevilla, Spain

    Juan M. Gonzalez, M. Carmen Portillo & Cesareo Saiz-Jimenez

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  1. Juan M. Gonzalez
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  2. M. Carmen Portillo
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  3. Cesareo Saiz-Jimenez
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Correspondence to Juan M. Gonzalez.

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Gonzalez, J.M., Portillo, M.C. & Saiz-Jimenez, C. Metabolically active Crenarchaeota in Altamira Cave. Naturwissenschaften 93, 42–45 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-005-0060-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-005-0060-3

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