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Distribution, Diversity And Ecology Of Aerobic Carbon Monoxide-Oxidizing Bacteria In Hawaiian Volcanic Deposits, Carolyn Frances Weber

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Carbon monoxide-oxidizing bacteria are among the first colonists of recently formed volcanic deposits despite environmental conditions that challenge their survival, such as oscillating water regimes and lack of endogenous sources of organic carbon and nitrogen. Activity assessments and molecular surveys of the coxL gene (large subunit carbon monoxide dehydrogenase) across a vegetation gradient on a 1959 volcanic deposit on Kilauea Volcano (Hawai’i) indicated that CO-oxidizing communities continue to expand, diversify and remain competitive during ecosystem development. Distinct compositional shifts occurred across the gradient with Firmicutes-like coxL sequences dominating clone libraries from unvegetated sites (Bare) and Proteobacteria coxL sequences dominating libraries …