Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-8-2016

Keywords

geomicrobiology, microfossils, mineral templating, hot-springs, biomineralization

Abstract

Experiments on microorganisms capable of surviving silicification are often conducted to gain a better understanding of the process of silica biomineralization and to gain insights into microbially influenced rock formations and biofabrics like those found in ancient deposits such as the Early Archean Apex Chert formation (Schopf, 1993; House et al., 2000). An ideal microorganism for studying silicification is the large sheathed cyanobacterium Calothrix, which form distinctive organo-sedimentary structures in the low to moderate temperature regions of hydrothermal springs or columnar stromatolitic structures in aquatic systems. Our ability to identify and characterize microfossils from ancient deposits allows us to gain a better understanding of environmental conditions on early Earth. Here we characterized Calothrix-dominated biofacies along the outflow apron of Queen's Laundry Hot-Spring in Yellowstone National Park using microscopy and molecular techniques to examine biofacies morphology and phylogenetic diversity. We found that flow regime and temperature had a profound effect on community composition as identified by the observation of five distinct Calothrix-dominated communities and on biofacies architecture along the outflow apron.

Publication Title

Frontiers in Environmental Science

Volume

4

Issue

40

DOI

10.3389/fenvs.2016.00040

Required Publisher's Statement

Copyright © 2016 Smythe, McAllister, Hager, Hager, Tebo and Moyer.

Subjects - Topical (LCSH)

Biomineralization; Microbial mats--Yellowstone National Park; Microbial diversity; Chert--Yellowstone National Park; Geomicrobiology--Yellowstone National Park

Genre/Form

articles

Type

Text

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

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