Gutierrez-Patricio Sara, Osman Jorge R, Gonzalez-Pimentel José Luis, Jurado Valme, Laiz Leonila, Concepción Alfredo Laínez, Saiz-Jimenez Cesareo, Miller Ana Zélia
Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla (IRNAS-CSIC), Sevilla, Spain.
Instituto de Geología Económica Aplicada (GEA), Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile.
Environ Microbiol Rep. 2024 Apr;16(2):e13245. doi: 10.1111/1758-2229.13245.
Cueva del Viento, located in the Canary Islands, Spain, is the Earth's sixth-longest lava tube, spanning 18,500 m, and was formed approximately 27,000 years ago. This complex volcanic cave system is characterized by a unique geomorphology, featuring an intricate network of galleries. Despite its geological significance, the geomicrobiology of Cueva del Viento remains largely unexplored. This study employed a combination of culture-dependent techniques and metabarcoding data analysis to gain a comprehensive understanding of the cave's microbial diversity. The 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding approach revealed that the coloured microbial mats (yellow, red and white) coating the cave walls are dominated by the phyla Actinomycetota, Pseudomonadota and Acidobacteriota. Of particular interest is the high relative abundance of the genus Crossiella, which is involved in urease-mediated biomineralization processes, along with the presence of genera associated with nitrogen cycling, such as Nitrospira. Culture-dependent techniques provided insights into the morphological characteristics of the isolated species and their potential metabolic activities, particularly for the strains Streptomyces spp., Paenarthrobacter sp. and Pseudomonas spp. Our findings underscore the potential of Cueva del Viento as an ideal environment for studying microbial diversity and for the isolation and characterization of novel bacterial species of biotechnological interest.
位于西班牙加那利群岛的风洞是地球上第六长的熔岩管，全长18500米，大约形成于27000年前。这个复杂的火山洞穴系统以其独特的地貌为特征，拥有错综复杂的廊道网络。尽管风洞具有重要的地质意义，但其地质微生物学在很大程度上仍未得到探索。本研究采用了依赖培养的技术与宏条形码数据分析相结合的方法，以全面了解该洞穴的微生物多样性。16S rRNA基因宏条形码分析方法表明，覆盖洞穴壁的有色微生物垫（黄色、红色和白色）主要由放线菌门、假单胞菌门和酸杆菌门主导。特别值得关注的是Crossiella属的相对丰度较高，该属参与脲酶介导的生物矿化过程，同时还存在与氮循环相关的属，如硝化螺菌属。依赖培养的技术揭示了分离物种的形态特征及其潜在的代谢活动，特别是对于链霉菌属、类节杆菌属和假单胞菌属的菌株。我们的研究结果强调了风洞作为研究微生物多样性以及分离和鉴定具有生物技术意义的新型细菌物种的理想环境的潜力。
