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<p>Research on prokaryotes living in geothermal ecosystems have broadened our understanding of their compositions and response to extreme environmental stresses, especially for plankton bacterial communities in hot spring water. However, the comprehensive exploration of microbial diversity, assemblages, and interactions in geothermal spring mats in Africa, particularly in Rwanda, remain underexplored. This study explored the bacterial and eukaryotic communities’ biodiversity, assemblages, and interactions within microbial mats from the Bugarama hot pool (BHP; 40–47&#xa0;°C) and Gisenyi hot springs (GHS; 58–71.4&#xa0;°C) in Rwanda, using high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and 18S rRNA gene, complemented by null and neutral community models and physicochemical analytical methods. Interestingly, the bacterial Shannon, Evenness, and Simpson indices were significantly different (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05) among geothermal spring mats. In BHP and GHS, the abundances of <i>Chloroflexota</i>, <i>Proteobacteria</i>, <i>Firmicutes</i>, and <i>Acidobacteriota</i> were significantly higher in BHP (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05) than in GHS, whereas <i>Cyanobacteria</i>, <i>Bacteroidota</i>, <i>Planctomycetota</i>, <i>Verrucomicrobiota</i>, and <i>Spirochaetota</i> were significantly more abundant in GHS (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.01). Conversely, <i>Chloroplastida</i>, <i>Mucoromycot</i>a, <i>Arthropoda</i>, and <i>Cryptomycota</i> were significantly more prevalent in BHP (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05), while the SAR supergroup, <i>Ascomycota</i>, <i>Nematoda</i>, and <i>Amoebozoa</i> dominated in GHS (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05). Through null and neutral modeling, stochastic processes exerted greater influence on bacterial and eukaryotic community assembly in fine-scale variations within geothermal spring mats. Despite this stochastic predominance, abiotic environmental factors (deterministic processes) such as temperature, pH, salinity (EC and TDS), and nitrate cannot be entirely ruled out. Moreover, Co-occurrence network analysis (|r|&gt; 0.7, <i>P</i> &lt; 0.05) revealed more complex and stable microbial interactions at higher temperatures (GHS). These findings highlight the rich underexplored microbial diversity and interactions in Rwandan geothermal spring mats through metagenomic analysis, shedding light on ecological processes and dynamics in extreme environments. Despite being ignored in metagenomic studies, eukaryotic communities highlight novel temperature-tolerant taxa: <i>Echinamoeba</i> and <i>Tubulinea</i> in phylum Amoebozoa, Monhysterida in phylum Nematoda, and Novel_Clade_Gran-5 in phylum Cercozoa, which are both pathogens and fierce predators thriving in geothermal habitats.</p>

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Untapped Microbial Diversity, Assemblages, and Interactions in Rwandan Geothermal Spring Mats, Africa

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年1月5日

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  • Benjamin Manirakiza,
  • Songhe Zhang,
  • Felix Gyawu Addo,
  • Binessi Edouard Ifon,
  • Ntayomba James,
  • Razak Kiribou,
  • Nsengiyumva Ishimwe Aimee Nadine,
  • Vedaste Nyandwi,
  • Joseph Ndakize Sebaziga,
  • Rose Mukasekuru,
  • Jean de Dieu Uwizelimana

摘要

Research on prokaryotes living in geothermal ecosystems have broadened our understanding of their compositions and response to extreme environmental stresses, especially for plankton bacterial communities in hot spring water. However, the comprehensive exploration of microbial diversity, assemblages, and interactions in geothermal spring mats in Africa, particularly in Rwanda, remain underexplored. This study explored the bacterial and eukaryotic communities’ biodiversity, assemblages, and interactions within microbial mats from the Bugarama hot pool (BHP; 40–47 °C) and Gisenyi hot springs (GHS; 58–71.4 °C) in Rwanda, using high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and 18S rRNA gene, complemented by null and neutral community models and physicochemical analytical methods. Interestingly, the bacterial Shannon, Evenness, and Simpson indices were significantly different (P < 0.05) among geothermal spring mats. In BHP and GHS, the abundances of Chloroflexota, Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Acidobacteriota were significantly higher in BHP (P < 0.05) than in GHS, whereas Cyanobacteria, Bacteroidota, Planctomycetota, Verrucomicrobiota, and Spirochaetota were significantly more abundant in GHS (P < 0.01). Conversely, Chloroplastida, Mucoromycota, Arthropoda, and Cryptomycota were significantly more prevalent in BHP (P < 0.05), while the SAR supergroup, Ascomycota, Nematoda, and Amoebozoa dominated in GHS (P < 0.05). Through null and neutral modeling, stochastic processes exerted greater influence on bacterial and eukaryotic community assembly in fine-scale variations within geothermal spring mats. Despite this stochastic predominance, abiotic environmental factors (deterministic processes) such as temperature, pH, salinity (EC and TDS), and nitrate cannot be entirely ruled out. Moreover, Co-occurrence network analysis (|r|> 0.7, P < 0.05) revealed more complex and stable microbial interactions at higher temperatures (GHS). These findings highlight the rich underexplored microbial diversity and interactions in Rwandan geothermal spring mats through metagenomic analysis, shedding light on ecological processes and dynamics in extreme environments. Despite being ignored in metagenomic studies, eukaryotic communities highlight novel temperature-tolerant taxa: Echinamoeba and Tubulinea in phylum Amoebozoa, Monhysterida in phylum Nematoda, and Novel_Clade_Gran-5 in phylum Cercozoa, which are both pathogens and fierce predators thriving in geothermal habitats.