Thermus species are thermophilic heterotrophs, with most capable of using a variety of organic and inorganic electron donors for respiration. Here, a combined cultivation-independent and -dependent approach was used to explore the diversity of Thermus in Great Boiling Spring (GBS) and Little Hot Creek (LHC) in the US Great Basin. A cultivation-independent 16S rRNA gene survey of ten LHC sites showed that Thermus made up 0–3.5% of sequences and were predominately Thermus thermophilus. 189 Thermus isolates from GBS and LHC were affiliated with T. aquaticus (73.0%), T. oshimai (25.4%), T. sediminis (1.1%), and T. thermophilus (0.5%), with T. aquaticus and T. oshimai forming biogeographic clusters. 22 strains were selected for characterization, including chemolithotrophic oxidation of thiosulfate and arsenite, and reduction of ferric iron, polysulfide, and nitrate, revealing phenotypic diversity and broad respiratory capability within each species. PCR demonstrated the wide distribution of aerobic arsenite oxidase genes. A GBS sediment metaproteome contained sulfite oxidase and Fe³⁺ ABC transporter permease peptides, suggesting sulfur and iron transformations in situ. This study expands our knowledge of the physiological diversity of Thermus, suggesting widespread chemolithotrophic and anaerobic respiration phenotypes, and providing a foundation for better understanding the ecology of this genus in thermal ecosystems.

中文翻译：

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美国大盆地温泉的Thermus菌株之间的呼吸能力不同。

嗜热菌是嗜热异养菌，最能利用多种有机和无机电子供体进行呼吸。在这里，使用了一种独立于栽培的组合方法来探索美国大盆地的沸腾温泉（GBS）和小热溪（LHC）中的Thermus多样性。对10个LHC位点的不依赖培养的16S rRNA基因调查显示，Thermus占序列的0-3.5％，主要是嗜热菌Thermus thermophilus。189栖热从GBS和LHC隔离用附属栖热菌属aquaticus（73.0％），T. oshimai（25.4％），T. sediminis（1.1％），和嗜热（0.5％），水生丁香球菌和鱼丁香菌形成生物地理簇。选择了22个菌株进行表征，包括硫代硫酸盐和亚砷酸盐的化学营养型氧化，以及三价铁，多硫化物和硝酸盐的还原，揭示了每个物种内的表型多样性和广泛的呼吸能力。PCR证明了好氧亚砷氧化酶基因的广泛分布。GBS沉积物元蛋白质组包含亚硫酸盐氧化酶和Fe ³⁺ ABC转运蛋白渗透酶肽，表明硫和铁原位转化。这项研究扩展了我们对Thermus生理多样性的认识，表明广泛的化营养和厌氧呼吸表型，并为更好地了解热生态系统中该属的生态学提供了基础。