Geomicrobiology of Lehman Caves. cave metagenome

Lehman Caves is an extensively decorated, high desert cave that represents one of the main tourist attractions in Great Basin National Park in Nevada. We characterized microbial communities associated with secondary mineral deposits in the Gypsum Annex and other regions of the cave in order to describe modern microbial colonization of mineral surfaces and evaluate whether and how microbial communities use gypsum and other secondary precipitates in this oligotrophic desert cave.

雷曼洞穴（Lehman Caves）是一处拥有丰富沉积景观的高海拔沙漠洞穴，同时也是美国内华达州大盆地国家公园的核心旅游景点之一。本研究针对石膏附属区（Gypsum Annex）及洞穴其他区域的次生矿物沉积相关微生物群落开展表征工作，旨在阐明矿物表面的现代微生物定殖过程，并探究在这一贫营养沙漠洞穴中，微生物群落是否以及如何利用石膏与其他次生沉淀物。