A cold-loving crenarchaeon is a substantial part of a novel microbial community in cold sulphidic marsh water

In this paper, we report the identification and first characterization of a novel, cold-loving, prokaryotic community thriving among white-greenish ‘streamers’ in the cold (c. 10°C) sulphurous water of the marsh Sippenauer Moor near Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany. It consists of the bacterial genus Thiothrix, the bacterium ‘Sip100’ and one archaeal representative, forming together a unique association structure with a distinct life cycle. Fluorescence in situ hybridization studies have revealed that the archaeal member can be affiliated to the crenarchaeal kingdom (‘Cre1’). This crenarchaeon was always observed attached to the bacterial community member ‘Sip100’. Extended fluorescence in situ hybridization studies showed that this crenarchaeon was not detected in a free-living form, raising the idea of a probable host-dependent relationship. In line with our fluorescence in situ hybridization studies, novel crenarchaeal 16S rRNA gene sequences were identified in these samples. The design and application of a new in situ cultivation method in the sulphurous water of the marsh allowed first insights into the cohesion mechanisms, lifestyle and chronology of the microbes involved in this prokaryotic community in nature. Our results suggest that hitherto unknown Crenarchaeota thrive in cold sulphidic water and are a substantial part of a synchronized microbial community.