Fischerella thermalis transcripts from El Tatio hot springs metatranscriptomes

The cyanobacterium Fischerella thermalis is one of the main primary producers in the temperature gradient up to temperatures close to 60 C in terrestrial hot springs worldwide, but the mechanisms by which it maintains its photosynthetic activity at these high temperatures are not known. We have used molecular and bioinformatics approaches, in addition to photophysiological analyses, to determine the genetic activity related to the energy metabolism of F. thermalis in situ. The transcriptional activity and metabolic characteristics of F. thermalis measured by metatranscriptomics further suggest that carbon metabolism functions in parallel, connected to photosynthesis, being able to assist in obtaining energy at high temperatures where other photosynthetic organisms cannot survive. This study revealed that F. thermalis uses several compensatory adaptations to cope with the harsh conditions of hot springs.