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Microbial diversity in Tunisian geothermal springs as detected by molecular and culture-based approaches

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Abstract

Prokaryotic diversities of 12 geothermal hot springs located in Northern, Central and Southern Tunisia were investigated by culture-based and molecular approaches. Enrichment cultures for both aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms were successfully obtained at temperatures ranging from 50 to 75°C. Fourteen strains including four novel species were cultivated and assigned to the phyla Firmicutes (9), Thermotogae (2), Betaproteobacteria (1), Synergistetes (1) and Bacteroidetes (1). Archaeal or universal oligonucleotide primer sets were used to generate 16S rRNA gene libraries. Representative groups included Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Deinococcus-Thermus, Thermotogae, Synergistetes, Bacteroidetes, Aquificae, Chloroflexi, candidate division OP9 in addition to other yet unclassified strains. The archaeal library showed a low diversity of clone sequences belonging to the phyla Euryarchaeota and Crenarchaeota. Furthermore, we confirmed the occurrence of sulfate reducers and methanogens by amplification and sequencing of dissimilatory sulfite reductase (dsrAB) and methyl coenzyme M reductase α-subunit (mcrA) genes. Altogether, we discuss the diverse prokaryotic communities arising from the 12 geothermal hot springs studied and relate these findings to the physico-chemical features of the hot springs.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Dr. E. Roussel and the director of the Tunisian Office of Balneology for their help. We also acknowledge Prof. J. P. Euzéby for support in the Latin etymologies of species names. This research was financed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Tunisia and by CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Microbiologie des Environnements Extrêmes, UMR 6197, UBO-CNRS-IFREMER, Place Nicolas Copernic, 29280, Plouzané, France

    Raja Sayeh, Jean Louis Birrien, Karine Alain & Daniel Prieur

  2. Laboratoire d’Ecologie et Technologie Microbienne, Département de Génie Biologique et Chimique, Institut des Sciences Appliquées et Technologie, B.P. 676, 1080, Tunis, Tunisia

    Raja Sayeh & Mokhtar Hamdi

  3. Laboratoire de Biodiversité et Ecologie Microbienne (EA3882), IFR148, Université de Brest, Université Européenne de Bretagne, 29280, Plouzané, France

    Georges Barbier

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  1. Raja Sayeh
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  2. Jean Louis Birrien
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  4. Georges Barbier
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Correspondence to Raja Sayeh.

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Communicated by A. Oren.

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Sayeh, R., Birrien, J.L., Alain, K. et al. Microbial diversity in Tunisian geothermal springs as detected by molecular and culture-based approaches. Extremophiles 14, 501–514 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00792-010-0327-2

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