The Microbial Composition in Circumneutral Thermal Springs from Chignahuapan, Puebla, Mexico Reveals the Presence of Particular Sulfur-Oxidizing Bacterial and Viral Communities

Terrestrial thermal springs are widely distributed globally, and these springs harbor a broad diversity of organisms of biotechnological interest. In Mexico, few studies exploring this kind of environment have been described. In this work, we explore the microbial community in Chignahuapan hot springs, which provides clues to understand these ecosystems’ diversity. We assessed the diversity of the microorganism communities in a hot spring environment with a metagenomic shotgun approach. Besides identifying similarities and differences with other ecosystems, we achieved a systematic comparison against 11 metagenomic samples from diverse localities. The Chignahuapan hot springs show a particular prevalence of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria from the genera Rhodococcus, Thermomonas, Thiomonas, Acinetobacter, Sulfurovum, and Bacillus, highlighting those that are different from other recovered bacterial populations in circumneutral hot springs environments around the world. The co-occurrence analysis of the bacteria and viruses in these environments revealed that within the Rhodococcus, Thiomonas, Thermonas, and Bacillus genera, the Chignahuapan samples have specific species of bacteria with a particular abundance, such as Rhodococcus erytropholis. The viruses in the circumneutral hot springs present bacteriophages within the order Caudovirales (Siphoviridae, Myoviridae, and Podoviridae), but the family of Herelleviridae was the most abundant in Chignahuapan samples. Furthermore, viral auxiliary metabolic genes were identified, many of which contribute mainly to the metabolism of cofactors and vitamins as well as carbohydrate metabolism. Nevertheless, the viruses and bacteria present in the circumneutral environments contribute to the sulfur cycle. This work represents an exhaustive characterization of a community structure in samples collected from hot springs in Mexico and opens opportunities to identify organisms of biotechnological interest.