Relationship between Environmental Temperature and Optimum Temperature of Bacteria along a Hot Spring Thermal Gradient

Abstract

SUMMARY The temperature optima of bacteria occurring at various temperatures along the thermal gradient of a hot spring in Yellowstone Park was studied directly in nature by measuring the rate of incorporation in the dark of [ 14 C]glucose or 14 CO 2 . Bacteria found at environmental temperatures over the range 35‐70° were studied. For each temperature, the optimum for glucose and CO 2 incorporation was similar to the environmental temperature.