Thermophilic Communities, Yellowstone
Thermophilic communities are as diverse as the communities that humans live in. Community formations, colors, and locations vary depending on the types of microbes, the pH, and the temperature of their environments.
Millions of individual microbes can connect into long strands called filaments. Some bacteria and algae form thin and delicate structures in fast moving water such as the runoff channels of hot springs and geysers. Other microbes form thick, sturdy structures in slower water or where chemical precipitates quickly coat their filaments.
A bacterium called Thermocrinis forms structures and grows by eating hydrogen gas or sulfur compounds. Its filaments entwine, forming mats. Flowing water carries other microbes, organic matter, and minerals that become caught in the streamers and add to the mat.
Photosynthetic activity of Cyanobacteria such as Lyptolyngbya form columns or pedestals. Oxygen bubbles rise in the mat, forcing the microbes upward. The higher formations capture more organic matter and sediment than the lower mats, which help build the columns. Called stromatolites or microbialites, these structures are similar to ancient microbial communities preserved in formations (dated to >3.0 billion years old) around the world.
Mats can be as thin as tissue paper or as thick as lasagna. Multiple layers of microorganisms make up inch-thick mats. Dozens of types of microbes from all three domains can exist in these layers. Each layer is a community, and each layer interacts with the other layers, forming a complex, larger ecosystem full of millions of microorganisms and their life processes.
Thermophilic Communities, Yellowstone
Thermophilic communities are as diverse as the communities that humans live in. Community formations, colors, and locations vary depending on the types of microbes, the pH, and the temperature of their environments.
Millions of individual microbes can connect into long strands called filaments. Some bacteria and algae form thin and delicate structures in fast moving water such as the runoff channels of hot springs and geysers. Other microbes form thick, sturdy structures in slower water or where chemical precipitates quickly coat their filaments.
A bacterium called Thermocrinis forms structures and grows by eating hydrogen gas or sulfur compounds. Its filaments entwine, forming mats. Flowing water carries other microbes, organic matter, and minerals that become caught in the streamers and add to the mat.
Photosynthetic activity of Cyanobacteria such as Lyptolyngbya form columns or pedestals. Oxygen bubbles rise in the mat, forcing the microbes upward. The higher formations capture more organic matter and sediment than the lower mats, which help build the columns. Called stromatolites or microbialites, these structures are similar to ancient microbial communities preserved in formations (dated to >3.0 billion years old) around the world.
Mats can be as thin as tissue paper or as thick as lasagna. Multiple layers of microorganisms make up inch-thick mats. Dozens of types of microbes from all three domains can exist in these layers. Each layer is a community, and each layer interacts with the other layers, forming a complex, larger ecosystem full of millions of microorganisms and their life processes.