A selective survey of microbial flora in the water of seven Missouri caves.

A variety of microbiological techniques are being used to isolate and identify microbial species from water samples collected in caves, including Missouri caves. In this study, water was collected from seven caves located in five different counties distributed across the Missouri Ozarks with a goal of species identification and viable library development. Forty individual species of microbes were identified from these cave waters, many found in multiple locations, identified by pure culture technique and biochemical characterization. Most are ubiquitous species, such as Escherichia coli or various Bacillus species, typically represented in enteric or soil samples while others are unique like Aeromonas veronii, a leech symbiont. A frozen archive of all identified species was created for possible future studies. This project represents the first microbial biodiversity listing for these seven Missouri caves.