Hindawi Publishing Corporation Archaea Volume 2013, Article ID 136714, 13 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/136714 Research Article Microbial Diversity and Biochemical Potential Encoded by Thermal Spring Metagenomes Derived from the Kamchatka Peninsula Bernd Wemheuer, 1 Robert Taube, 1 Pinar Akyol, 1 Franziska Wemheuer, 2 and Rolf Daniel 1 1 Department of Genomic and Applied Microbiology and Goettingen Genomics Laboratory, Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, Georg-August-University Goettingen, Grisebachstraße 8, 37077 Goettingen, Germany 2 Section of Agricultural Entomology, Department for Crop Sciences, Georg-August-University Goettingen, Grisebachstraße 6, 37077 Goettingen, Germany Correspondence should be addressed to Rolf Daniel; rdaniel@gwdg.de Received 21 November 2012; Accepted 6 January 2013 Academic Editor: Michael Hoppert Copyright © 2013 Bernd Wemheuer et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Volcanic regions contain a variety of environments suitable for extremophiles. Tis study was focused on assessing and exploiting the prokaryotic diversity of two microbial communities derived from diferent Kamchatkian thermal springs by metagenomic approaches. Samples were taken from a thermoacidophilic spring near the Mutnovsky Volcano and from a thermophilic spring in the Uzon Caldera. Environmental DNA for metagenomic analysis was isolated from collected sediment samples by direct cell lysis. Te prokaryotic community composition was examined by analysis of archaeal and bacterial 16S rRNA genes. A total number of 1235 16S rRNA gene sequences were obtained and used for taxonomic classifcation. Most abundant in the samples were members of Taumarchaeota, Termotogae, and Proteobacteria. Te Mutnovsky hot spring was dominated by the Terrestrial Hot Spring Group, Kosmotoga, and Acidithiobacillus. Te Uzon Caldera was dominated by uncultured members of the Miscellaneous Crenarchaeotic Group and Enterobacteriaceae. Te remaining 16S rRNA gene sequences belonged to the Aquifcae, Dictyoglomi, Euryarchaeota, Korarchaeota, Termodesulfobacteria, Firmicutes, and some potential new phyla. In addition, the recovered DNA was used for generation of metagenomic libraries, which were subsequently mined for genes encoding lipolytic and proteolytic enzymes. Tree novel genes conferring lipolytic and one gene conferring proteolytic activity were identifed. 1. Introduction Sites of volcanic activity can be found all over the world and even under the sea. Volcanic regions provide a variety of diferent environments for extremophilic archaeal and bacterial microorganisms. Well-known examples of such extreme environments are terrestrial surface hot springs. With respect to geographical, physical, environmental, and chemical characteristics, hot springs are unique sites for extremophilic microorganisms [1–3]. Extremophiles inhabit- ing hot springs are considered to be the closest living descen- dants of the earliest life forms on Earth [4, 5]. Terefore, these springs provide insights into the origin and evolution of life. In addition, thermophiles and hyperthermophiles produce a variety of hydrolytic enzymes such as lipases, glycosidases, peptidases and other biomolecules, which are of industrial interest [6–8]. For example, Hotta et al. [9] found an extremely stable carboxylesterase in the hyper- thermophilic archaeon Pyrobaculum calidifontis VA1, and Arpigny et al. [10] identifed a novel heat-stable lipolytic enzyme in Sulfolobus acidocaldarius DSM 639. Especially in extreme environments, most microorgan- isms are reluctant to cultivation-based approaches [11, 12]. Terefore, culture-independent metagenomic strategies are promising approaches to assess the phylogenetic composition and functional potential of microbial communities living in extreme environments [7, 13, 14]. For example, Simon et al. studied the prokaryotic community in glacier ice and found a