Investigations on Zodletone spring: a temperate sulfur-rich habitat harboring rich microbial communities

Zodletone spring is characterized by high concentrations of reduced sulfur compounds, short-chain gaseous alkanes, and abundant microbial mats that harbor complex prokaryotic communities. The anoxygenic microbial mats present in Zodletone spring represent a possible modern analog to surface ecosystems that may have prevailed in ancient geological settings. High abundances of reduced sulfur compounds suggest sulfide as primary electron donor for photosynthesis in this system.
We plan to characterize the microbial community using a comparative approach of biomarker- and RNA-based methods (in close collaboration with Stefan Sievert) and investigate the carbon turnover using a labeling approach.
The first series of experiments targeted the phototrophic community, following the question whether cyanobacteria or purple sulfur bacteria are the key players in this system.
The second series of experiments dealt with the abundant methane emitted from the source and investigated the possibility of anaerobic methane oxidation.

Funding: Marie Curie Outgoing International Fellowship (MOIF-CT-2004-509865) from the European Community and a MARUM postdoctoral Fellowship
Mentor: Kai-Uwe Hinrichs
Collaboration: Stefan Sievert, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, USA
Lee Krumholz & Mostafa Elshahed, University of Oklahoma, Norman, USA
Henk Jonkers, Max Planck Institute for marine Microbiology, Bremen

photograph by Stefan Sievert