Contrasting microbial community assembly hypotheses: a reconciling tale from the Rio Tinto

C. Palacios (1, 2, 3) , E. Zettler (4) , R. Amils (4) , L. Amaral-Zettler (2, 3)

1 BETM - Biologie et écologie tropicale et méditerranéenne [2007-2010]
2 MBL - Marine Biological Laboratory
3 NAI - NASA Astrobiology Institute
4 CBMSO - Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa [Madrid]

The Río Tinto (RT) is distinguished from other acid mine drainage systems by its natural and ancient origins. Microbial life from all three domains flourishes in this ecosystem, but bacteria dominate metabolic processes that perpetuate environmental extremes. While the patchy geochemistry of the RT likely influences the dynamics of bacterial populations, demonstrating which environmental variables shape microbial diversity and unveiling the mechanisms underlying observed patterns, remain major challenges in microbial ecology whose answers rely upon detailed assessments of community structures coupled with fine-scale measurements of physico-chemical parameters

Domaines: Biodiversité et Ecologie

C. Palacios, E. Zettler, R. Amils, L. Amaral-Zettler. Contrasting microbial community assembly hypotheses: a reconciling tale from the Rio Tinto. PLoS ONE, 2008, 3 (12), pp.e3853. ⟨10.1371/journal.pone.0003853⟩. ⟨halsde-00348254⟩