Microbes from valcanos

• Introduction• Volcano fields are unique ecosystems found around the

world’s active volcanoes.• These environments are characterized by magma and ash

as soil parent material and often exhibit early stages ofsuccession in an ecosystem.

• Frequent disturbance of volcanic activity can preventsuccession from proceeding to high orders. These eruptionscan produce or displace magma, rock, or ash, dependingon unique characteristics of every volcano or eruptionevent.

• These areas are quite special because they represent thespearhead of geologic time.

• Materials from the earth’s inner layers are introduced tothe lithosphere and atmosphere, which can causeinteresting phenomena among microbial populations.

• The microbial populations found in such areas arecategorized by their abilities to process the new orchanged materials on the earth’s surface. Althoughdisturbance is high right near the source of magmaand ash flows, these flows do not always cover an areacompletely, which provides physical, chemical, andbiological diversity between and across sites near avolcano.

• Microorganisms that occupy these areas are typicallyextremophiles that tolerate high heat, and are oftenoxidize CO and utilize methanogenesis. These earlyprocesses help prepare the lava and ash deposits to besuitable to support higher life forms.

• Very high concentrations of silicates cause lava to be anacidic environment, suitable for acidophiles, while lessacidic flows are represented by a lower concentration ofsilicate material.

• Microorganisms colonize recent volcanic deposits and areable to establish diverse communities, their composition isgoverned by variations in local deposit parameters.

• Along with solid and liquid rock material ejected byvolcanoes, many gases are ejected and are often trapped inthe solids on the ground once the lava cools.

• These gases can be used by microbes for gas exchange andmetabolic processes. Methane, for example, is common inerupted material, and is used by methanotrophic bacteriafor energy and carbon uptake.

Biological interactions• Important biological interactions in volcano fields are quite like many

other ecosystem; the microbes and fungi allow plants to utilize nutrientsthat would be otherwise inaccessible.

• once microbes change the soils, a process involved in pedogenosis tosupport plant life, plants will be able to grow and reproduce, whichallows the primary succession plants to immigrate to the newly formedsoils.

• When plants establish, their roots can break up the volcanic deposits,allowing more gas-exchange and atmospheric interactions to shape thecomposition and structure of the soils. When more air is present in thevolcanic soils, more microbial activity can take place due to the increasedgas exchange capabilities.

Microbial process

• CO Oxidation• Consumption of CO2 by bacteria allows for a balance

between abiotic creation of CO and metabolizing CO.• Methanotrophy• Methanotrophs are able to use methane as their

primary source of carbon and energy.• Sulfur Metabolism• Bacteria that metabolize sulfur are important to

volcano fields, as sulfur is often brought to thelithosphere during eruption events.

• Extremophiles, and Methanotrophs are two important types of bacteria foundafter the lava or ash has cooled. These organisms utilize endospores to face theextreme heat involved with volcanoes.

• Thermophiles• Microbes that flourish in extreme heat are known as thermophiles. They can

also be found in Yellowstone Hot Springs and Hydrothermal Vents on the oceanfloor.

• These organisms are often acidophilic, which gives them the ability to occupythe extremely hot and acidic environment involved near active volcanoes.

• CO Oxidizers• CO Oxidizers will oxidize carbon monoxide in order to obtain electrons for

energy. These bacteria help maintain the balance of CO in volcanic soils byacting as a counterpart to abiotic production of CO.

• Methanotrophs• Methanotrophs metabolize methane as their only source of carbon and energy.• Sulfur Immobilizers• Beggiatoa are one genus of proteobacteria that metabolize sulfur for energy.

These organisms play an important role in the sulfur cycle.

• Pseudomonas• Burkholderia• Mycobacterium• Beggiatoa• Acidobilus

Microbes from space

Microbes from space • The majority of experiments on microorganisms in space were

performed using Earth-orbiting robotic spacecraft, e.g., the RussianFoton satellites and the European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA) orhuman-tended spacecraft, such as space shuttles and spacestations, e.g., MIR and the International Space Station (ISS).

• Only twice, during translunar trips of Apollo 16 and 17 in theearly 1970s, were microorganisms exposed to space conditionsbeyond Earth's magnetic shield, in the MEED (microbial ecologyequipment device) facility and in the Biostack experiments.

• Arriving in space without any protection, microorganisms areconfronted with an extremely hostile environment, characterizedby an intense radiation field of galactic and solar origin, highvacuum, extreme temperatures, and microgravity

• Earth's upper atmosphere. • We first discuss the Earth's environment, from its surface, through the

ozone layer, and up to interplanetary space.• To understand airborne microbes and the extent to which they may be

found viable, we must know the atmospheric environment.• The atmosphere is a blanket of gases surrounding Earth that is held in

by gravity.• The atmosphere protects life on Earth's surface by absorbing

ultraviolet solar radiation warming the surface through heat retention,and reducing temperature extremes between day and night.

• There is no definite boundary between the atmosphere and outerspace.

• With increasing altitude, the atmosphere becomes thinner andeventually fades away into outer space.

• The temperature of the Earth's atmosphere varies with altitude; themathematical relationship between temperature and altitude variesamong the different atmospheric layers. The average temperature ofthe atmosphere at the surface of Earth is 15°C

• D. radiodurans• Halorubrum chaoviatoris• B. subtilis,• Chroococcidiopsis• Xanthoria elegans• Rhizocarpon geographicum• Pseudomonas aeruginosa• E. coli • Staphylococcus sp• Salmonella sp

Yellowstone Hot Springs

• What are hot springs?• Hot springs are geothermal springs that are substantially higher in

temperature than the air temperature of the surrounding region.• They are everywhere: different countries and areas, even some on

the seafloor• Creation of Hot Springs• Hot springs can be created in different ways.• They can either be created in a volcanic or non-volcanic manner.• When created in an area near active volcanic zones, like

Yellowstone, water becomes heated as it comes into contact withmagma.

• This superheated water then rises back up, creating either a hotspring or geyser depending on the rate it rises.

• If it rises back up slowly, it will become a hot spring; if it risesback up quickly, it will become a geyser.

• When created in non-volcanic areas, water becomes heated as itcomes into contact with hot rocks within the earth's crust. Then thewater will rise back up to create hot springs.

• Thermophilic Microbes• The varieties of microbes found in Yellowstone National Park hot

springs are thermophilic archaea and bacteria.• Their classification “thermopile” translates literally to “heat

loving”; these organisms can tolerate or even thrive intemperatures that many organisms are not well adapted to. Thetemperature range found at Yellowstone is approximately 30º to100º C with a variable pH range and low concentration of organicmatter.

• Due to the unique nature of their environment, these thermopileshave adapted a number of different features to help them survivein extreme conditions.

• Among the advantages that come with increased temperature arehigher reaction rates, higher solubility of most chemicals, andincreased fluidity and diffusion rates.

• To compensate for the harmful effects of higher temperature,thermophilic microbes have unique features that allow them tothrive in their environment. They tend to have a higher meltingtemperature due to the high content of C and G nucleotides.

• Other common features that allow archaea to live inextreme environments include cell wall components thatinclude pseudomurein, special proteins andpolysaccharides.

• Their membrane lipids consist of glycerol and isopranylethers as opposed to the acid esters of bacteria.

• Thermophilic bacteria can generally survive in maximumtemperatures lower than thermophilic archaea.

• The survival mechanisms of bacterial thermophiles couldinvolve modification of their cell wall (greater chargedamino acids), lipids, and protein compositions.

• They also have modified cellular processes.• For example, in the Thermus species, the electron

transport chain, when compared to mesophiles, shows alower molar growth yield for glucose, possibly explained bythe higher membrane permeability of thermophiles.

• Synechococcus• Chloroflexus• Phormidium• Mastigocladus laminosus• Calothrix• Synechococcus lividus• Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicus• Thermocrinis rubber• Sulfolobus• Thermoplasma acidophilum• Thermus aquaticus

Biofertilizer• Seed treatment :

Suspend 200 gm N biofertilizer and 200 gms Phosphotikain 300-400 ml of water and mix thoroughly. Mix this paste with 10 kg seeds & dry in shade. Sow immediately.

• Seedling root dip:For vegetables 1 kg each of two biofertilisers be mixed in sufficient quantity of water. Dip the roots of seedlings in this suspension for 30-40 min before transplanting.For paddy make a bed in the field and fill it with water. Mix biofertilisers in water and dip the roots of seedlings for 8-10 hrs.

• Soil treatment:Mix 4 kg each of biofertilisers in 200 kg of compost and leave it overnight. Apply this mixture in the soil at the time of sowing or planting.In plantation crops apply this mixture near root zone and cover with soil.

• Application of Biofertilizers• 1. Seed treatment or seed inoculation

2. Seedling root dip 3. Main field application

• Seed treatment• One packet of the inoculant is mixed with 200 ml of rice kanji to make a

slurry. The seeds required for an acre are mixed in the slurry so as to have a uniform coating of the inoculant over the seeds and then shade dried for 30 minutes. The shade dried seeds should be sown within 24 hours. One packet of the inoculant (200 g) is sufficient to treat 10 kg of seeds.

• Seedling root dip• This method is used for transplanted crops. Two packets of the inoculant

is mixed in 40 litres of water. The root portion of the seedlings required for an acre is dipped in the mixture for 5 to 10 minutes and then transplanted.

• Main field application• Four packets of the inoculant is mixed with 20 kgs of dried and powdered

farm yard manure and then broadcasted in one acre of main field just before transplanting.