Thermophilic bacteria that tolerate a wide temperature and pH range colonize the Soldhar (95 A°C) and Ringigad (80 A°C) hot springs of Uttarakhand, India

Twenty-eight bacterial cultures, isolated from hot springs in Uttarakhand, were characterized with particular reference to their wide temperature and pH tolerance and production of enzymes in the thermophilic range. All the bacterial isolates were observed as Gram-positive or variable rods in varied arrangement. Bacterial isolates exhibited tolerance to a wide temperature range (20-80 A degrees C), from mesophilic (+11A degrees to +45 A degrees C) to thermophilic (+46 A degrees to +75 A degrees C); few almost reached the hyperthermophilic range (+76 A degrees C). The isolates also tolerated a wide pH range (4-14) and moderate salt concentration. The optimum growth of the bacterial isolates was observed at 55 A degrees C and 7 pH. Out of 28 isolates, 25 produced lipase, 25 amylase, 24 cellulase, 22 protease and 13 xylanase at 55 and 65 A degrees C. Tolerance to a wide temperature and pH range and the production of enzymes in a thermophilic temperature range can be considered as indicators of ecological competence of these bacterial isolates for colonizing the high temperature environment. On the basis of 16S rDNA similarity, 20 bacterial isolates belonged to Bacillus licheniformis, five to Paenibacillus ehimensis and one each to Bacillus sonorensis, B. tequilensis, and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Besides variation in phenotypic characters, strains of B. licheniformis and P. ehimensis showed varying 16S rDNA similarity between 97-99 % and 95-99 %, respectively. Consideration of temperature preferences in classifying microorganisms on the basis of their minimum, maximum, and optimum growth requirements is also discussed. The study has ecological relevance in the context of colonization of high temperature environments by thermophilic bacteria.