Deciphering microbial community and their unique metabolic repertoire across rock-soil-plant continuum associated with Dayoukeng geothermal area of the Tatun volcano

High temperature and sulfur concentrations in geothermal sulfur hot springs harbors unique microbial ecosystems with niche-specific metabolic diversity and physiological functions. In this study, the microbial communities and their fanctionalities associated with the bubbling pool of the Dayoukeng hot spring of the Tatun volcano group basin across the rock-soil-plant continuum were investigated to underpine the nich specific microbial modulation at different distances to spring origin. At the phylum level Bacteroidota, Planctomycetota, Armatimonadota, and Patescibacteria were abundant in plant samples; Elusimicrobiota and Desulfobacterota were in the rock samples while Nitrospirota, Micrarchaeota, Deinococcota, and Methylomirabilota were dominant in the soil samples. Acidophilic thermophiles were enriched in the samples in close vicinity of 1m distance, mainly. The sulfur and iron-oxidizing acidophilic bacterial genera such as Acidothiobacillus and Sulfobacillus as well archaeal genera such as Acidiplasma, Picrophilus, and Ferroplasma were abundant in the rock samples. The thermoacidophilic archaeon Acidianus, acidophilic bacteria Acidiphilium as well as ferrous iron-oxidizing bacteria Leptospirillum and Sulfobacillus were abundant in the soil samples. Additionally, Thermosporothrix and Acidothermus were found abundant in the plant samples. The functional annotation results showed that dark sulfur oxidation, iron oxidation, and hydrogen oxidation pathways were found to be abundant in the soil samples up to 1m, while the methanogenic and fermentation pathways were abundant in the soil samples of 10m distances. Interestingly, the results of this metagenomic study indicated a higher microbial richness and abundance of acidophilic communities in the soil and plants compared to the parent rock of the DYK geothermal site.