Microbial processes forming daily lamination in an aragonite travertine, Nagano-yu hot spring, Southwest Japan

Tomoyo Okumura, Chizuru Takashima, Fumito Shiraishi, Shin Nishida, Kise Yukimura, Takeshi Naganuma, Hiroko Koike, Gernot Arp, Akihiro Kano

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

35 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

An aragonite travertine at Nagano-yu hot spring, SW Japan, exhibits clear sub-millimeter-order lamination that resembles ancient ministromatolites. Thirty-three hours of continuous observation showed that the lamination is formed daily with no changes in physicochemical properties except light intensity. Phylotype analysis and fluorescence in situ hybridization indicate that Hydrogenophaga sp. is dominant and concentrated in diurnal layers containing abundant extracellular polymeric substances. Growth of Hydrogenophaga sp. is activated in the daytime, likely due to extracellular polymeric substance production by cyanobacterial photosynthesis. Daytime development of Hydrogenophaga-dominant biofilms, and the concurrent inhibiting effect on aragonite precipitation, explains the daily lamination observed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)135-148
Number of pages14
JournalGeomicrobiology Journal
Volume28
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2011

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Microbiology
  • Environmental Chemistry
  • Environmental Science(all)
  • Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Microbial processes forming daily lamination in an aragonite travertine, Nagano-yu hot spring, Southwest Japan'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this