Metagenome Across a Geochemical Gradient of Indian Stone Ruins Found at Historic Sites in Tamil Nadu, India
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ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
Metagenome Across a Geochemical Gradient of Indian Stone Ruins Found at Historic Sites in Tamil Nadu, India Nathaniel J. Ennis 1 & Dhanasekaran Dharumaduri 1,2 & Julia G. Bryce 3 & Louis S. Tisa 1 Received: 31 August 2020 / Accepted: 3 September 2020 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Although stone surfaces seem unlikely to be habitable, they support microbial life. Life on these surfaces are subjected to many varying harsh conditions and require the inhabitants to exhibit resistance to environmental factors including UV irradiation, toxic metal exposure, and fluctuating temperatures and humidity. Here we report the effect of hosting stone geochemistry on the microbiome of stone ruins found in Tamil Nadu, India. The microbial communities found on the two lithologies, granite and granodiorite, hosted distinct populations of bacteria. Geochemical composition analysis of sampled stones revealed quartz mineral content as a major driver of microbial community structure, particularly promoting community richness and proportions of Cyanobacteria and Deinococcus-Thermus. Other geochemical parameters including ilmenite, albite, anorthite, and orthoclase components or elemental concentrations (Ti, Fe, Mn, Na, and K) also influenced community structure to a lesser degree than quartz. Core members of the stone microbiome community found on both lithologies were also identified and included Cyanobacteria (Chroococcidiopsaceae and Dapisostemonum CCIBt 3536), Rubrobacter, and Deinococcus. A cluster of taxa including Sphingomonas, Geodermatophilus, and Truepera were mostly found in the granodiorite samples. Community diversity correlated with quartz mineral content in these samples may indicate that the microbial communities that attach to quartz surfaces may be transient and regularly changing. This work has expanded our understanding of built-stone microbial community structure based on lithology and geochemistry. Keywords Microbiome . Metagenome . Stones . Ruins . Climate . Geochemistry . Geodermatophilaceae . Actinobacteria . Stone-dwelling bacteria
Introduction Once thought uninhabitable, stone surfaces have been found to support microbial life. Life on these surfaces are subjected to numerous and varying harsh conditions including limited Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-020-01598-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Louis S. Tisa [email protected] 1
Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences, University of New Hampshire, 46 College Rd., Durham, NH 03824-2617, USA
2
Department of Microbiology, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India
3
Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham 03824, NH, USA
availability of nutrients and water, extended periods of desiccation, lethal UV irradiation, exposure to toxic metals and metalloids, and fluctuations in temperature [1–6]. Because these seve
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