{"id":{"repo_id":"montana-tech","oai_identifier":"oai:scholarworks.umt.edu:etd-1680"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/montana-tech/oai:scholarworks.umt.edu:etd-1680","repository":{"repo_id":"montana-tech","name":"Montana Technology","base_url":"https://scholarworks.umt.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"MICROBIAL COMMUNITY ASSEMBLY AND DIVERSIFICATION OF THE GENUS CHLOROFLEXUS ALONG AN ALKALINE HOT SPRING GRADIENT","abstract":"This research aims to achieve a greater understanding of the structure of bacterial communities present in alkaline hot springs in Yellowstone National Park. I focus specifically on White Creek and Rabbit Creek in the Lower Geyser Basin. I show that, overall, the bacterial communities of both creeks are non-randomly assembled. However, at finer taxonomic scales, bacterial groups differ in their community assembly patterns. Specifically, phototrophic groups show the strongest evidence for non-random assembly, most likely due to competition for light. A major exception to this pattern is the genus Chloroflexus, a major member of these communities. Members of this genus primarily grow phototrophically, yet they did not show evidence of non-random assembly, as only one major 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequence was detected. Therefore, I next explored whether this single 16S rRNA sequence represents a single, broadly-distributed generalist or several cryptic specialist lineages. I isolated eleven strains of Chloroflexus from White Creek and determined that these isolates are members of a group without previously cultured representatives. I show that strains isolated from different temperatures have recently diverged within White Creek, as they can be differentiated genetically by the propionyl Co-A synthase gene, as well as phenotypically by differences in thermotolerance.","abstract_html":"This research aims to achieve a greater understanding of the structure of bacterial communities present in alkaline hot springs in Yellowstone National Park. I focus specifically on White Creek and Rabbit Creek in the Lower Geyser Basin. I show that, overall, the bacterial communities of both creeks are non-randomly assembled. However, at finer taxonomic scales, bacterial groups differ in their community assembly patterns. Specifically, phototrophic groups show the strongest evidence for non-random assembly, most likely due to competition for light. A major exception to this pattern is the genus Chloroflexus, a major member of these communities. Members of this genus primarily grow phototrophically, yet they did not show evidence of non-random assembly, as only one major 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequence was detected. Therefore, I next explored whether this single 16S rRNA sequence represents a single, broadly-distributed generalist or several cryptic specialist lineages. I isolated eleven strains of Chloroflexus from White Creek and determined that these isolates are members of a group without previously cultured representatives. I show that strains isolated from different temperatures have recently diverged within White Creek, as they can be differentiated genetically by the propionyl Co-A synthase gene, as well as phenotypically by differences in thermotolerance.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Weltzer, Michael Louis"],"institution":"University of Montana","degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:13:53Z","subjects":["Chloroflexus","community assembly","hot springs microbiology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/661","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Weltzer, Michael Louis"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["University of Montana"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Chloroflexus","community assembly","hot springs microbiology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/661"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This research aims to achieve a greater understanding of the structure of bacterial communities present in alkaline hot springs in Yellowstone National Park. I focus specifically on White Creek and Rabbit Creek in the Lower Geyser Basin. I show that, overall, the bacterial communities of both creeks are non-randomly assembled. However, at finer taxonomic scales, bacterial groups differ in their community assembly patterns. Specifically, phototrophic groups show the strongest evidence for non-random assembly, most likely due to competition for light. A major exception to this pattern is the genus Chloroflexus, a major member of these communities. Members of this genus primarily grow phototrophically, yet they did not show evidence of non-random assembly, as only one major 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequence was detected. Therefore, I next explored whether this single 16S rRNA sequence represents a single, broadly-distributed generalist or several cryptic specialist lineages. I isolated eleven strains of Chloroflexus from White Creek and determined that these isolates are members of a group without previously cultured representatives. I show that strains isolated from different temperatures have recently diverged within White Creek, as they can be differentiated genetically by the propionyl Co-A synthase gene, as well as phenotypically by differences in thermotolerance."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["MICROBIAL COMMUNITY ASSEMBLY AND DIVERSIFICATION OF THE GENUS CHLOROFLEXUS ALONG AN ALKALINE HOT SPRING GRADIENT"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Weltzer, Michael Louis"],"dc:description.abstract":["This research aims to achieve a greater understanding of the structure of bacterial communities present in alkaline hot springs in Yellowstone National Park. I focus specifically on White Creek and Rabbit Creek in the Lower Geyser Basin. I show that, overall, the bacterial communities of both creeks are non-randomly assembled. However, at finer taxonomic scales, bacterial groups differ in their community assembly patterns. Specifically, phototrophic groups show the strongest evidence for non-random assembly, most likely due to competition for light. A major exception to this pattern is the genus Chloroflexus, a major member of these communities. Members of this genus primarily grow phototrophically, yet they did not show evidence of non-random assembly, as only one major 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequence was detected. Therefore, I next explored whether this single 16S rRNA sequence represents a single, broadly-distributed generalist or several cryptic specialist lineages. I isolated eleven strains of Chloroflexus from White Creek and determined that these isolates are members of a group without previously cultured representatives. I show that strains isolated from different temperatures have recently diverged within White Creek, as they can be differentiated genetically by the propionyl Co-A synthase gene, as well as phenotypically by differences in thermotolerance."],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/661"],"dc:publisher":["University of Montana"],"dc:subject":["Chloroflexus","community assembly","hot springs microbiology"],"dc:title":["MICROBIAL COMMUNITY ASSEMBLY AND DIVERSIFICATION OF THE GENUS CHLOROFLEXUS ALONG AN ALKALINE HOT SPRING GRADIENT"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:13:53Z"}