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Geochemistry and microbial ecology in alkaline hot springs of Ambitle Island, Papua New Guinea

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Abstract

The availability of microbiological and geochemical data from island-based and high-arsenic hydrothermal systems is limited. Here, the microbial diversity in island-based hot springs on Ambitle Island (Papua New Guinea) was investigated using culture-dependent and -independent methods. Waramung and Kapkai are alkaline springs high in sulfide and arsenic, related hydrologically to previously described hydrothermal vents in nearby Tutum Bay. Enrichments were carried out at 24 conditions with varying temperature (45, 80 °C), pH (6.5, 8.5), terminal electron acceptors (O2, SO4 2−, S0, NO3 −), and electron donors (organic carbon, H2, AsIII). Growth was observed in 20 of 72 tubes, with media targeting heterotrophic metabolisms the most successful. 16S ribosomal RNA gene surveys of environmental samples revealed representatives in 15 bacterial phyla and 8 archaeal orders. While the Kapkai 4 bacterial clone library is primarily made up of Thermodesulfobacteria (74 %), no bacterial taxon represents a majority in the Kapkai 3 and Waramung samples (40 % Proteobacteria and 39 % Aquificae, respectively). Deinococcus/Thermus and Thermotogae are observed in all samples. The Thermococcales dominate the archaeal clone libraries (65–85 %). Thermoproteales, Desulfurococcales, and uncultured Eury- and Crenarchaeota make up the remaining archaeal taxonomic diversity. The culturing and phylogenetic results are consistent with the geochemistry of the alkaline, saline, and sulfide-rich fluids. When compared to other alkaline, island-based, high-arsenic, or shallow-sea hydrothermal communities, the Ambitle Island archaeal communities are unique in geochemical conditions, and in taxonomic diversity, richness, and evenness.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks are due Thomas Pichler and Roy Price, instrumental in the field work in Papua New Guinea. Lauren Burcea generated the phylogenetic trees and maintained the enrichment experiments. This work was supported by NSF grants BC/CBC 0221834 and EAR 0447231. A special thanks goes to Chief Philippe of Ambitle Island (Fig. 1b), without whose skilled machete work the sampling sites would have remained inaccessible to us.

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  1. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60607, USA

    D’Arcy R. Meyer-Dombard

  2. Departments of Earth Sciences and Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA

    Jan P. Amend

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Correspondence to D’Arcy R. Meyer-Dombard.

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Meyer-Dombard, D.R., Amend, J.P. Geochemistry and microbial ecology in alkaline hot springs of Ambitle Island, Papua New Guinea. Extremophiles 18, 763–778 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00792-014-0657-6

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