title: Aquifer community structure in dependence of lithostratigraphy in groundwater reservoirs.
abstract: Groundwater microbiology with respect to different host rocks offers new possibilities to describe and map the habitat harboring approximately half of Earths' biomass. The Thuringian Basin (Germany) contains formations of the Permian (Zechstein) and Triassic (Muschelkalk and Buntsandstein) with outcrops and deeper regions at the border and central part. Hydro(geo)chemistry and bacterial community structure of 11 natural springs and 20 groundwater wells were analyzed to define typical patterns for each formation. Widespread were Gammaproteobacteria, while Bacilli were present in all wells. Halotolerant and halophilic taxa were present in Zechstein. The occurrence of specific taxa allowed a clear separation of communities from all three lithostratigraphic groups. These specific taxa could be used to follow fluid movement, e.g., from the underlying Zechstein or from nearby saline reservoirs into Buntsandstein aquifers. Thus, we developed a new tool to identify the lithostratigraphic origin of sources in mixed waters. This was verified with entry of surface water, as species not present in the underground Zechstein environments were isolated from the water samples. Thus, our tool shows a higher resolution as compared to hydrochemistry, which is prone to undergo fast dilution if water mixes with other aquifers. Furthermore, the bacteria well adapted to their respective environment showed geographic clustering allowing to differentiate regional aquifers.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Neugasse 25, 07743, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beyer
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ecology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Dornburger Str. 159, 07743, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rzanny
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Neugasse 25, 07743, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Aileen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weist
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Neugasse 25, 07743, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Silke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Möller
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geosciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Burgweg 11, 07749, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Burow
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Neugasse 25, 07743, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Falko
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gutmann
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geosciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Burgweg 11, 07749, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Neumann
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Neugasse 25, 07743, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lindner
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Neugasse 25, 07743, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Steffen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Müsse
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Neugasse 25, 07743, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Hanka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Brangsch
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Neugasse 25, 07743, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stoiber-Lipp
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geosciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Burgweg 11, 07749, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lonschinski
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geosciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Burgweg 11, 07749, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Merten
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geosciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Burgweg 11, 07749, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Büchel
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Neugasse 25, 07743, Jena, Germany. Erika.kothe@uni-jena.de.
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kothe
mesh_terms: D005858:Germany; D060587:Groundwater / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology*; D064307:Microbiota / Q000235:genetics; D058889:Molecular Typing; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000032:analysis; D014871:Water Microbiology; D060986:Water Wells
chemical_list: D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012965:Sodium Chloride
keywords: Bacterial communities; Buntsandstein; Groundwater; Lithostratigraphy; Muschelkalk; Thuringian basin; Zechstein