title: Resilience and receptivity worked in tandem to sustain a geothermal mat community amidst erratic environmental conditions.
abstract: To elucidate how geothermal irregularities affect the sustainability of high-temperature microbiomes we studied the synecological dynamics of a geothermal microbial mat community (GMMC) vis-à-vis fluctuations in its environment. Spatiotemporally-discrete editions of a photosynthetic GMMC colonizing the travertine mound of a circum-neutral hot spring cluster served as the model-system. In 2010 a strong geyser atop the mound discharged mineral-rich hot water, which nourished a GMMC continuum from the proximal channels (PC) upto the slope environment (SE) along the mound's western face. In 2011 that geyser extinguished and consequently the erstwhile mats disappeared. Nevertheless, two relatively-weaker vents erupted in the southern slope and their mineral-poor outflow supported a small GMMC patch in the SE. Comparative metagenomics showed that this mat was a relic of the 2010 community, conserved via population dispersal from erstwhile PC as well as SE niches. Subsequently in 2012, as hydrothermal activity augmented in the southern slope, ecological niches widened and the physiologically-heterogeneous components of the 2011 "seed-community" split into PC and SE meta-communities, thereby reclaiming either end of the thermal gradient. Resilience of incumbent populations, and the community's receptiveness towards immigrants, were the key qualities that ensured the GMMC's sustenance amidst habitat degradation and dispersal to discrete environments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Bose Institute, P-1/12 CIT Scheme VIIM, Kolkata, 700054, India.
authors.forename: Wriddhiman
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ghosh
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Bose Institute, P-1/12 CIT Scheme VIIM, Kolkata, 700054, India.
authors.forename: Chayan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Bose Institute, P-1/12 CIT Scheme VIIM, Kolkata, 700054, India.
authors.forename: Rimi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.affiliation: Thermo Fisher Scientific, 403/404 B-Wing, Delphi, Hiranandani Business Park, Powai, Mumbai 400076 India.
authors.forename: Pravin
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nilawe
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, The University of Burdwan, Burdwan, West Bengal, PIN - 713104, India.
authors.forename: Ambarish
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mukherjee
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Bose Institute, P-1/12 CIT Scheme VIIM, Kolkata, 700054, India.
authors.forename: Prabir Kumar
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Haldar
authors.affiliation: Thermo Fisher Scientific, 372 Udyog Vihar Phase II, Gurgaon, Haryana, 122016, India.
authors.forename: Neeraj Kumar
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Chauhan
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Bose Institute, P-1/12 CIT Scheme VIIM, Kolkata, 700054, India.
authors.forename: Sabyasachi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhattacharya
authors.affiliation: Thermo Fisher Scientific, 372 Udyog Vihar Phase II, Gurgaon, Haryana, 122016, India.
authors.forename: Atima
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Agarwal
authors.affiliation: Thermo Fisher Scientific, 372 Udyog Vihar Phase II, Gurgaon, Haryana, 122016, India.
authors.forename: Ashish
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: George
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Bose Institute, P-1/12 CIT Scheme VIIM, Kolkata, 700054, India.
authors.forename: Prosenjit
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pyne
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Bose Institute, P-1/12 CIT Scheme VIIM, Kolkata, 700054, India.
authors.forename: Subhrangshu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mandal
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Bose Institute, P-1/12 CIT Scheme VIIM, Kolkata, 700054, India.
authors.forename: Moidu Jameela
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Rameez
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, The University of Burdwan, Burdwan, West Bengal, PIN - 713104, India.
authors.forename: Goutam
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bala