Kamchatka Microbial Observatory

An international microbial and biogeochemical research program led by Dr. Juergen Wiegel of the University of Georgia (UGA) are studying hot springs in Kamchatka, Russia. In a unique collaborative and interdisciplinary effort, the project will address questions related to understanding the role of micro-organisms in hot springs. What this may boil down to for non-scientists may be as mundane as discovering novel enzymes for manufacturing processes or as esoteric as a better understanding of how life began.

The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Microbial Observatories program has provided funding for this research, which will be conducted by scientists from five universities. Professors and students will use the grant money to travel to Kamchatka, a far northeastern peninsula on the outskirts of Russia to study hot springs with researchers from the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow and the Russian Institute of Volcanology in Petropavlovsk-kamchatkii, Kamchatka.

Kamchatka, also called “the land in the making,” has more than 30 active volcanoes, and unique aspects of the region include its pristine condition and variety of geothermal features. What interests the scientists the most is that these hot springs differ from those at places like Yellowstone National Park in the Unites States. Kamchatka was a highly secured military region during the cold war and it has only recently become accessible to the west.

Dr. Wiegel, principal investigator from the UGA Microbiology Department says of the million-dollar project, “This is an exciting opportunity, because it will combine specialists from various disciplines such as microbiology, biochemistry, ecology and geology to investigate the interaction and influence of the environment on diverse microbial processes. But, even more important for the long term, is how the microbial activities influence the formation of minerals in the hot springs."

One reason scientists believe they may find unique micro-organisms is that Kamchatka hot springs are at a relatively low elevation and this permits the springs to reach a higher temperature before their waters boil. Even a few degrees make a big difference for the microbes, and different microbial interactions may mean different minerals. Dr. Christopher Romanek, a co-investigator from the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, points out that the micro-organisms thriving in near boiling hot springs close to sea level can tolerate some of the hottest temperatures on the terrestrial surface of the planet. And Romanek says, “a few degrees here or there from boiling can mean the difference between a thriving microbial population and a bunch of crispy critters."

According to the Director of the Institute of Volcanology, Dr. Gennadi Karpov, the study site, the Uzon caldera, is home to some unique minerals such as Uzonite. Wiegel hypothesizes some of these minerals may form with the help of micro-organisms unique to Kamchatka. Wiegel is optimistic that he and the other microbiolgists on the team, Drs. Gary King, University of Maine; Frank Robb, University of Maryland; and the Russian microbiologists under the lead of Dr. Liza Bonch Osmolovskaya; will find and characterize unique - and so far unknown -micro-organisms. In concert with other colleagues, including Dr. Sherry Cady from Portland State University and geologists Drs. Doug Crowe and Paul Schroeder from the UGA Geology Department, the research team will also be looking for bacterial fossils in spring sinters and nearby rocks to see what lived there hundreds to thousands of years ago. “If we can make associations, perhaps we can carry that back to how life first developed on earth.” Other co-investigators from UGA/SREL include Drs. Andrew Neal (spectroscopist), Chuanlun Zhang (microbial geochemist) and Gary Mills (organic geochemist).

Wiegel pointed out that one of the most important aspects of this project is the strong involvement of graduate and undergraduate students, who will also work in Kamchatka. “Especially for the undergraduate students, this is an outstanding opportunity to work side-by-side in the field and laboratory with recognized scientists on an interdisciplinary team,” he said.

The Kamchatka team also includes the Nobel Prize winner in chemistry, Roald Hoffmann, from Cornell University. He is spearheading the educational and outreach components of the project. “This is a rare opportunity - funded for four years by NSF- for interested students on the undergraduate and graduate level to travel to Kamchatka and see for themselves the limits at which life survives on our planet,” Dr. Hoffmann said.

Dr. Wiegel and his research team are leaving this week for the Uzon Caldera of Kamchatka to begin their field work to uncover how life survives and thrives on the edge, in one of earth's most extreme terrestrial habitats.