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Environmental microbiology

Plant bacteria thrive in storm clouds

Nature Reviews Microbiology volume 11, pages 146–147 (2013)Cite this article

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plant bacteria are better adapted...for survival and growth in atmospheric conditions

To sample the storm cloud environment, Šantl-Temkiv et al. collected 42 hailstones after a storm in May 2009 and analysed the dissolved organic matter content and the composition of the bacterial community. As control samples, the team used ice cubes of deionized water contaminated with soil and grass. They found that the concentrations of dissolved organic carbon and total dissolved nitrogen in the hailstones were within the same range as those measured in aquatic systems, indicating that storm clouds have the potential to support microbial life. Using ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry, the authors determined the molecular composition of almost 3,000 different organic compounds and found that most compounds were derived from the soil, with only a minor contribution from plants.

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPERS

  1. Šantl-Temkiv, T. et al. Hailstones: a window into the microbial and chemical inventory of a storm cloud. PLoS ONE 8, e53550 (2013)

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  2. DeLeon-Rodriquez, N. et al. Microbiome of the upper troposphere: species composition and prevalence, effects of tropical storms, and atmospheric implications. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA, 28 Jan 2013 (doi:10.1073/pnas.1212089110)

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Authors
  1. Christina Tobin Kåhrström
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Kåhrström, C. Plant bacteria thrive in storm clouds. Nat Rev Microbiol 11, 146–147 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro2978

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