Distribution of Carbon-Sequestering Microbes in Different Habitats and the Interaction with Habitat Factors in a Natural Karst Cave

Wei Xu, Lei Liao (), Dongliang Liao, Fuli Li, Aimiao Qin, Shengpeng Mo, Xiaobin Zhou and Yinming Fan
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Wei Xu: College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China
Lei Liao: College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China
Dongliang Liao: College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
Fuli Li: College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China
Aimiao Qin: College of Materials Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China
Shengpeng Mo: College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China
Xiaobin Zhou: College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China
Yinming Fan: College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 17, 1-17

Abstract: The distributional characteristics of microorganisms in karst cave ecosystems have been widely studied. However, in such a dark, humid, and oligotrophic habitat, studies on the differences in carbon-sequestering bacteria in multiple habitats are limited. Therefore, to learn the distribution characteristics of carbon-sequestering colonies in cave habitats and their correlation with habitat factors (e.g., pH, Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , etc.), samples from five cave habitats (weathered rock walls, underground river water, drips, sediments, and air) were collected from the twilight and dark zones of Shiziyan Cave (CO 2 concentration 5385 ppm). The results of high-throughput sequencing and statistical analyses showed that there were significant differences in the distribution of communities in different habitats, with higher abundance in sediments habitat and underground river water habitat, and the dominant phyla of Pseudomonadota (30.53%) and Cyanobacteria (75.11%) in these two habitats. The microbial diversity of the carbon-sequestering microbial community was higher in sediments than in underground river water. The pH, and Ca 2+ , SO 4 2 − , and NO 3 − concentrations can alter the diversity of carbon-sequestering microbes, thereby affecting carbon cycling in caves. Carbon metabolism analyses suggest that microbes in the habitat can cooperate and coexist by participating in different carbon metabolic pathways. These results expanded our understanding of carbon-sequestering microbial communities in cave systems and their responses to the environment.

Keywords: carbon-sequestering strains; multiple habitats; environmental factors; cbbL gene; microbial community (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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