Tufa microbial diversity revealed by 16S rRNA cloning in Taroko National Park, Taiwan

Tufa is a carbonate sediment contains inorganic and organic substances such as algae, microorganism and invertebrate. Microbial diversity of tufa found in Taroko National Park was investigated using 16S rRNA cloning and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). Eleven 16S rRNA phylotypes and 37 genus and group of bacteria were identified. Of total 381 clones isolated, proteobacteria occupied 25–30% whereas cyanobacteria dominated 16–28% in total microbial population in the three sites. Acidobacteria, agricultural soil bacterium, verrucomicrobia and firmicutes were, generally, distributed in the three sampling sites. Among the three sampling sites, Baiyang walkway is found to be the most diverse site in its tufa microbial composition, indicated by species richness plot and FISH.