Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Genetic Analysis Of Bacterial Gene Variations In Sulfidic Springs And The Influence On Geochemistry, Brendan Joseph Headd

Doctoral Dissertations

Culture-independent methods have revolutionized environmental microbiology and geomicrobiology studies and next-generation sequencing and metagenomics techniques continue to reveal the vast genetic diversity of microorganisms. But, these approaches provide comparatively little quantitative information about the roles that naturally occurring microbial gene variations play in local biogeochemical cycling. The goal of this study was to identify how the physical distribution and genetic diversity of microbial genes within a habitat impact environmental geochemistry by examining the biogeography of 16S rRNA genes and bacterial sulfur oxidation (Sox) genes in terrestrial sulfidic springs. 16S rRNA gene pyrosequences were obtained from microbial mats inhabiting eight sulfidic …