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Microorganisms are a diverse group of Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukaryotes with their very small size in common. Microbes make up the majority of organisms in numbers, biomass, and metabolic diversity and are critical component of the biosphere through geochemical cycling. Caves are models for the study of astrobiology: life on other planets. This chapter reviews intraterrestrial (inside Earth) microbes in Mammoth Cave. Despite the great size and complexity of Mammoth Cave, few microbial studies have been carried out. Great changes in methods from culture-dependent to molecular genomic studies have provided new information. Geomicrobiology is at the intersection of microbial activities and geologic processes, including sulfur-based ecosytems, formation of carbonate speleothems, saltpeter mining, and manganese oxide deposits. Microorganisms also include infectious agents like tuberculosis, and parasites of humans and cave crickets, and the devastating invasive fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in bats. Microbial nature preserves could protect communities of native cave microbes adapted to low-nutrient conditions. There are many ecological and evolutionary questions to be studied along with basic research and inventory of microorganisms in Mammoth Cave. |
