Public Outreach Activities
Pilot Citizen Science Study: Distributed Domestic Water Heater Microbiology Diversity
There is a growing interest in the biogeography of microorganisms. By looking at the genetic differences from isolates of similar microbes from across the globe, researchers are trying to understand the degree to which populations of microbes are isolated and whether this isolation suggests an allopatric speciation model for prokaryotes.
We conducted a citizen science pilot study of microbial diversity in water heaters to both:
1. access the feasibility of basing a citizen science project on field microbiology, and
2. generate a first image of the biogeographic distribution of thermophilic microorganisms
across the United States.
We distributed and received back samples from around the country and analyzed them. Photos from the results of the sample growth can be seen here
Publication: "Biogeography of thermophiles and predominance of Thermus scotoductus in domestic water heaters" https://doi.org/10.1007/s00792-018-1066-zdoi.org/10.1007/s00792-018-1066-z
Abstract:
Built systems such as water heaters can harbor extremophiles similar to those residing in natural hot springs, but the extent of colonization is not well understood. To address this, we conducted a survey of thermophilic microorganisms in household water heaters across the United States. Filter samples and inoculated cultures were collected by citizen-scientists from 101 homes. Draft genomes were assembled from cultured isolates and 16S rRNA genes were sequenced from filter samples. 28% of households harbored communities with unambiguous DNA signatures of thermophilic organisms, 36% of households provided viable inocula, and 21% of households had both. All of the recovered cultures as well as the community sequencing results revealed Thermus scotoductus to be the dominant thermophile in domestic water heaters, with a minority of water heaters also containing Meiothermus species and a few containing Aquificae. Sequence distance comparisons show that allopatric speciation does not appear to be a strong control on T. scotoductus distribution. Our results demonstrate that thermophilic organisms are widespread in hot tap water, and that Thermus scotoductus preferentially colonizes water heaters at the expense of local environmental Thermus strains.
There is a growing interest in the biogeography of microorganisms. By looking at the genetic differences from isolates of similar microbes from across the globe, researchers are trying to understand the degree to which populations of microbes are isolated and whether this isolation suggests an allopatric speciation model for prokaryotes.
We conducted a citizen science pilot study of microbial diversity in water heaters to both:
1. access the feasibility of basing a citizen science project on field microbiology, and
2. generate a first image of the biogeographic distribution of thermophilic microorganisms
across the United States.
We distributed and received back samples from around the country and analyzed them. Photos from the results of the sample growth can be seen here
Publication: "Biogeography of thermophiles and predominance of Thermus scotoductus in domestic water heaters" https://doi.org/10.1007/s00792-018-1066-zdoi.org/10.1007/s00792-018-1066-z
Abstract:
Built systems such as water heaters can harbor extremophiles similar to those residing in natural hot springs, but the extent of colonization is not well understood. To address this, we conducted a survey of thermophilic microorganisms in household water heaters across the United States. Filter samples and inoculated cultures were collected by citizen-scientists from 101 homes. Draft genomes were assembled from cultured isolates and 16S rRNA genes were sequenced from filter samples. 28% of households harbored communities with unambiguous DNA signatures of thermophilic organisms, 36% of households provided viable inocula, and 21% of households had both. All of the recovered cultures as well as the community sequencing results revealed Thermus scotoductus to be the dominant thermophile in domestic water heaters, with a minority of water heaters also containing Meiothermus species and a few containing Aquificae. Sequence distance comparisons show that allopatric speciation does not appear to be a strong control on T. scotoductus distribution. Our results demonstrate that thermophilic organisms are widespread in hot tap water, and that Thermus scotoductus preferentially colonizes water heaters at the expense of local environmental Thermus strains.
