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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Extreme Microbiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1501893

Prokaryotic communities associated with marine hydrothermal systems of the Gulf of California

Provisionally accepted
RUTH NOEMÍ AGUILA RAMIREZ RUTH NOEMÍ AGUILA RAMIREZ 1*Bárbara González Acosta Bárbara González Acosta 1Karla María Gutiérrez Almada Karla María Gutiérrez Almada 1José Manuel Borges Souza José Manuel Borges Souza 1Rocío Guadalupe Cervantes Gamez Rocío Guadalupe Cervantes Gamez 2Eduardo Quiroz Guzman Eduardo Quiroz Guzman 3*
  • 1 Instituto Politécnico Nacional CICIMAR, La Paz, BCS, Mexico
  • 2 Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur, Universidad de Guadalajara, Autlán, Jalisco, Mexico
  • 3 Centro de Investigación Biológica del Noroeste (CIBNOR), La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Marine hydrothermal systems (MHS) are considered extreme environments due to their unique physicochemical conditions, which are challenging for most organisms. This study investigates the microbial communities in three MHS sites in Baja California Sur, Mexico.Sediment samples were collected in rainy and dry seasons, and the analysis of microbial community structure and composition revealed that species richness and diversity were higher at control sites (not influenced by hydrothermal conditions). Samples from the MHS showed temporal variation in richness, as measured by the Chao1 index.Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria were the dominant classes. No significant differences in community structure were found between the seasons or between the control and MHS sites. However, the analysis did reveal differences in community structure among the three hydrothermal locations: Burro, Santispac, and Agua Caliente. The presence of Gammaproteobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Deltaproteobacteria, and Betaproteobacteria highlights their key roles in primary production within shallow hydrothermal systems, these microbial communities demonstrate their capacity to colonize diverse substrates. This study enhances the microbiological understanding of hydrothermal environments in Baja California Sur, and molecular analysis of unculturable microbes could provide further insights into their physiology and ecological roles in shallow hydrothermal systems.

    Keywords: shallow-water hydrothermal vent, sediment, diversity, bacterial diversity, Prokaryotic community

    Received: 25 Sep 2024; Accepted: 04 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 AGUILA RAMIREZ, González Acosta, Gutiérrez Almada, Borges Souza, Cervantes Gamez and Quiroz Guzman. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    RUTH NOEMÍ AGUILA RAMIREZ, Instituto Politécnico Nacional CICIMAR, La Paz, BCS, Mexico
    Eduardo Quiroz Guzman, Centro de Investigación Biológica del Noroeste (CIBNOR), La Paz, 23205, Baja California Sur, Mexico

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