Red Hill Hot Spring bacterial 16S rRNA

This study examines the relationships of the geobiological communities and mineralogical deposits, with the fault-fed hot spring water geochemistry. On the travertine surfaces and in the hot waters, there are a variety of colors that reflect extremophile bacterial communities associated with different temperature regimes. The most common bacteria throughout the active spring are Cyanobacteria, which are green in color and flourish around the flowing spring water. At the highest temperatures of ~72-75o C at the spring vent, a black-colored bacterial regime that is thin and has localized growth reflects a high temperature environment. At the distal toe or edges of the pond where temperatures are closer to ~54oC, white to green mats of Sulfurihydrogenibium reflect a lower temperature and a more suitable environment for extremophile diversity and growth.