Articles | Volume 23, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-4213-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-4213-2026
Research article
 | 
26 Jun 2026
Research article |  | 26 Jun 2026

The mirabilite microbiocosm in a Carpathian contact cave

Oana Teodora Moldovan, Crin-Triandafil Theodorescu, Erika Andrea Levei, and Oana Cadar

Related authors

Bacteria as paleoenvironmental proxies: the study of a cave Pleistocene profile
Cătălina Haidău, Ionuţ Cornel Mirea, Silviu Constantin, and Oana Teodora Moldovan
Biogeosciences, 22, 1163–1182, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1163-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1163-2025, 2025
Short summary

Cited articles

Akacin, I., Ersoy, Ş., Doluca, O., and Güngörmüşler, M.: Comparing the significance of the utilization of next generation and third generation sequencing technologies in microbial metagenomics, Microbiol. Res., 264, 127154, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micres.2022.127154, 2022. 
Azzaro, M., Papale, M., Rizzo, C., Forte, E., Lenaz, D., Guglielmin, M., and Lo Giudice, A.: Antarctic Salt-Cones: An Oasis of Microbial Life? The Example of Boulder Clay Glacier (Northern Victoria Land), Microorg., 10, 1753, https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10091753, 2022. 
Banks, E. D., Taylor, N. M., Gulley, J., Lubbers, B. R., Giarrizzo, J. G., Bullen, H. A., Hoehler, T. M., and Barton, H. A.: Bacterial Calcium Carbonate Precipitation in Cave Environments: A Function of Calcium Homeostasis, Geomicrobio. J., 27, 444–454, https://doi.org/10.1080/01490450903485136, 2010. 
Barton, H. A. and Northup, D. E.: Geomicrobiology in cave environments: past, current and future perspectives, J. Cave Karst. Stud., 69, 163–178, 2007. 
Baskar, S., Baskar, R., and Routh, J.: Biogenic evidences of moonmilk deposition in the Mawmluh Cave, Meghalaya, India, Geomicrobio. J., 28, 252–265, 2011. 
Download
Short summary
This study examines the microbial and geochemical environment surrounding mirabilite deposits in Izvorul Tăușoarelor Cave (Romanian Carpathians). Using a metabarcoding approach, the microbial profiling is unique: sulfur-reducing bacteria were absent in mirabilite samples. The presence of ammonia-oxidising archaea exclusively in the mirabilite area indicates a possible influence from a bat colony, which contributes minimal ammonia that supports the microbial equilibrium for mirabilite growth.
Share
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint