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Review
. 2022 Sep;12(9):238.
doi: 10.1007/s13205-022-03270-8. Epub 2022 Aug 21.

Bacterial diversity in 110 thermal hot springs of Indian Himalayan Region (IHR)

Jagdish Verma  1 , Anuradha Sourirajan  1 , Kamal Dev  1
Affiliations
Review

Bacterial diversity in 110 thermal hot springs of Indian Himalayan Region (IHR)

Jagdish Verma et al. 3 Biotech. 2022 Sep.

Abstract

Thermal hot springs are present throughout the world and constitute a unique habitat for microbial diversity. The current investigation is conducted to study the bacterial diversity of thermophilic microorganisms in thermal hot springs of the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR). As of today, 110 geothermal hot springs have been explored for microbial diversity. In this study, we observed that the growth of thermophilic bacteria isolated from thermal hot springs of IHR ranges between 40 and 100 °C, and pH of 3.5-8 have been reported in the literature. The major bacterial species reported from the thermal hot springs of IHR are Bacillus spp., Geobacillus spp., Paenibacillus spp., Pseudomonas spp., Anoxybacillus, Paenibacillus, Brevibacillus, Aneurinibacillus, Thermus aquaticus, Aquimonas, Flavobacterium, etc. Furthermore, bacterial isolates from thermal hot springs of IHR have been reported to produce various enzymes and metabolites such as amylase, β-galactosidase, cellulase, nitrate reductase, acetoin, caffeine degradation enzymes, lipase, urease, and laccase. Metagenomic study and the entire genomic shotgun project have established the impact of physicochemical parameters (temperature and pH) on developing the microbiome. We have discussed the discoveries of microbiological data on the hot springs of IHR until the end of year 2021. As a whole, the microbiome adapts themselves as successful inhabitants to extreme environmental conditions and also serves as a diverse resource for potential applications in health, food, and environment.

Keywords: Hot springs; Indian Himalayan Region; Metagenomic; Microbiome; Thermophiles.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interestThe authors of the manuscript “Bacterial Diversity in 110 Thermal Hot Springs of Indian Himalayan Region (IHR)” have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Applications of thermophilic microbes in food, environment remediation and health
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Thermal hot springs of Indian Himalayan Region (IHR): 110 thermal hot springs have been reported for microbial diversity from 12 IHR states/Union Territories as indicated in the top panel. The locations of 110 thermal hot springs have been mapped based on the location on the google map as indicated in (A) Arunachal Pradesh (B) Assam (C) Himachal Pradesh (D) Sikkim (E) West Bengal (F) Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh (G) Uttarakhand
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
A World map showing Indian Himalayan Region (IHR), B IHR states showing thermal hot springs with their locations in Indian Himalayan Region
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Applications of thermophilic enzymes isolated from the hot springs of Indian Himalayan region (IHR)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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