Temperature Adaptations in the Terminal Processes of Anaerobic Decomposition of Yellowstone National Park and Icelandic Hot Spring Microbial Mats

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The optimum temperatures for methanogenesis in microbial mats of four neutral to alkaline, low-sulfate hot springs in Yellowstone National Park were between 50 and 60°C, which was 13 to 23°C lower than the upper temperature for mat development. Significant methanogenesis at 65°C was only observed in one of the springs. Methane production in samples collected at a 51 or 62°C site in Octopus Spring was increased by incubation at higher temperatures and was maximal at 70°C. Strains of Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum were isolated from 50, 55, 60, and 65°C sites in Octopus Spring at the temperatures of the collection sites. The optimum temperature for growth and methanogenesis of each isolate was 65°C. Similar results were found for the potential rate of sulfate reduction in an Icelandic hot spring microbial mat in which sulfate reduction dominated methane production as a terminal process in anaerobic decomposition. The potential rate of sulfate reduction along the thermal gradient of the mat was greatest at 50°C, but incubation at 60°C of the samples obtained at 50°C increased the rate. Adaptation to different mat temperatures, common among various microorganisms and processes in the mats, did not appear to occur in the processes and microorganisms which terminate the anaerobic food chain. Other factors must explain why the maximal rates of these processes are restricted to moderate temperatures of the mat ecosystem.

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