Yellowstone National Park hot spring microbial community. hot springs metagenome

Joseph's Coat Hot Springs (YSTONE1). Suboxic sediments (80 deg C) were obtained on July 30, 2006 from a circumneutral (pH 6.1) geothermal pool (3-4 m diameter) located on the eastern edge of the Yellowstone caldera margin (44° 44' 21.4 N. Lat, 110° 19' 28.2" W. Lon). The geothermal source pool contains high concentrations of dissolved thiosulfate, arsenic, antimony, hydrogen, methane and sulfide. Consequently, several reduced constituents are candidates for supporting chemolithotrophic metabolism in these communities. The sediments contain pyrite (FeS2), stibnite (Sb2S3), orpiment (As2S3), elemental sulfur, SiO2 and alunite, and the formation of sulfide mineral phases is indicative of the suboxic conditions in this environment. One of the questions being addressed at this site is the role of reduced sulfur in the metabolism of hyperthermophilic members of the Crenarchaeota, and the role arsenate or arsenite species may play in energy conservation in these organisms. Sequences deposited into the Trace Archive can be found using the Project data link (GenomeProject ID #42235).