Comparative microbial ecology of the water column of an extreme acidic pit lake, Nuestra Señora del Carmen, and the Río Tinto basin (Iberian Pyrite Belt) Authors Elena González-Toril Center for Astrobiology (INTA-CSIC), Torrejón de Ardoz. Esther Santofimia Geological Survey of Spain, Madrid. Enrique López-Pamo Geological Survey of Spain, Madrid. Antonio García-Moyano Institute of Biology, University of Bergen, Bergen. Ángeles Aguilera Center for Astrobiology (INTA-CSIC), Torrejón de Ardoz. Ricardo Amils 1. Center for Astrobiology (INTA-CSIC), Torrejón de Ardoz. 2. Center for Molecular Biology Severo Ochoa, Autonomous University of Madrid-CSIC, Cantoblanco. Keywords: iron cycle, acidic pit lakes, acidophilic microorganisms, Río Tinto, Iberian Pyrite Belt Abstract The Iberian Pyrite Belt, located in Southwestern Spain, represents one of the world’s largest accumulations of mine wastes and acid mine drainages. This study reports the comparative microbial ecology of the water column of Nuestra Señora del Carmen acid pit lake with the extreme acidic Río Tinto basin. The canonical correspondence analysis identified members of the Leptospirillum, Acidiphilium, Metallibacterium, Acidithiobacillus, Ferrimicrobium and Acidisphaera genera as the most representative microorganisms of both ecosystems. The presence of archaeal members is scarce in both systems. Only sequences clustering with the Thermoplasmata have been retrieved in the bottom layer of Nuestra Señora del Carmen and one station of Río Tinto. Although the photosynthetically active radiation values measured in this lake upper layer were low, they were sufficient to activate photosynthesis in acidophilic microorganisms. All identified photosynthetic microorganisms in Nuestra Señora del Carmen (members of the Chlamydomonas, Zygnemopsis and Klebsormidium genera) are major members of the photosynthetic eukaryotic community characterized in Río Tinto basin. This study demonstrates a close relationship between the microbial diversity of Nuestra Señora del Carmen pit lake and the diversity detected in the Río Tinto basin, which underlain the influence of the shared mineral substrates in the microbial ecology of these ecosystems. [Int Microbiol 2014; 17(4):225-233]Keywords: iron cycle · acidic pit lakes · acidophilic microorganisms · Río Tinto · Iberian Pyrite Belt Author Biography Ricardo Amils, 1. Center for Astrobiology (INTA-CSIC), Torrejón de Ardoz. 2. Center for Molecular Biology Severo Ochoa, Autonomous University of Madrid-CSIC, Cantoblanco. Downloads PDF Issue Vol. 17 No. 4 (2014) Section Research Articles License Submission of a manuscript to International Microbiology implies: that the work described has not been published before, including publication in the World Wide Web (except in the form of an Abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis); that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; that all the coauthors have agreed to its publication. The corresponding author signs for and accepts responsability for releasing this material and will act on behalf of any and all coauthors regarding the editorial review and publication process.If an article is accepted for publication in International Microbiology, the authors (or other copyright holder) must transfer to the journal the right–not exclusive–to reproduce and distribute the article including reprints, translations, photographic reproductions, microform, electronic form (offline, online) or any other reproductions of similar nature. Nevertheless, all article in International Microbiology will be available on the Internet to any reader at no cost. The journal allows users to freely download, copy, print, distribute, search, and link to the full text of any article, provided the authorship and source of the published article is cited. The copyright owner's consent does not include copying for new works, or resale. In these cases, the specific written permission of International Microbiology must first be obtained.Authors are requested to create a link to the published article on the journal's website. The link must be accompanied by the following text: "The original publication is available on LINK at <http://www.im.microbios.org>. Please use the appropiate URL for the article in LINK. Articles disseminated via LINK are indexed, abstracted, and referenced by many abstracting and information services, bibliographic networks, subscription agencies, library networks, and consortia.
