Manikaran hot springs water metagenome

Metagenomic profiling of a stressed niche provides insights into its taxonomic and functional potential. Natural geothermal springs represent a unique and extreme environment with adverse conditions of temperature and salinity. Here, a metagenome-based approach was selected to analyze microbiome inhabiting bubbling water samples of a geothermal spring having highest temperature across India. Analysis of community DNA showed that the phyla Proteobacteria, Thermi, Actinobacteria, Crenarchaeota and Bacteroidetes were most abundant. Functional analysis revealed high enrichment of genes for repair system and homologous recombination suggesting that the microbial communities thriving in such an extreme environment have evolved extensive DNA repair systems to withstand high temperature. Also, a de novo genotype of Emticicia oligotrophica strain MM was reconstructed and validated from metagenomic reads.