Surface runoff alters cave microbial community structure and function

PLoS One. 2020 May 6;15(5):e0232742. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0232742. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Caves formed by sulfuric acid dissolution have been identified worldwide. These caves can host diverse microbial communities that are responsible for speleogenesis and speleothem formation. It is not well understood how microbial communities change in response to surface water entering caves. Illumina 16S rRNA sequencing and bioinformatic tools were used to determine the impact of surface water on the microbial community diversity and function within a spring pool found deep in the Monte Conca Cave system in Sicily, Italy. Sulfur oxidizers comprised more than 90% of the microbial community during the dry season and were replaced by potential anthropogenic contaminants such as Escherichia and Lysinibacillus species after heavy rains. One sampling date appeared to show a transition between the wet and dry seasons when potential anthropogenic contaminants (67.3%), sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (13.6%), and nitrogen-fixing bacteria (6.5%) were all present within the spring pool.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Bacillaceae / genetics
  • Base Sequence
  • Caves / microbiology*
  • DNA, Bacterial / genetics
  • Droughts
  • Escherichia / genetics
  • Hydrogen Sulfide / analysis
  • Microbiota / genetics*
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics
  • Rain
  • Seasons
  • Sicily
  • Soil Microbiology
  • Sulfates / analysis
  • Water Microbiology*
  • Wettability*

Substances

  • DNA, Bacterial
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
  • Sulfates
  • Hydrogen Sulfide

Grants and funding

JRG and BPO are faculty members at USF and MCD, CJM and CMD are graduate students at USF but did not receive salary specific to this project. The University of South Florida provided non-specific non-salary research funds to support JRG’s lab so there is not a grant number. The funds were not tied any particular project, and did not affect the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.