La sulfuraria de Baños de Montemayor (Cáceres): características morfológicas y funcionales de la comunidad microbiana constituyente

Abstract

The Baños de Montemayor spa (Cáceres, Spain) employs in hydrotherapeutic treatments the «Arqueta» source thermal water (40-42ºC), which has low dissolved solids (260-290 mg/L at 110ºC), is bicarbonated and contains sulphides (7-10 mg/L). Up to the nineties of the XX century, during the part of the year that the spa was closed to the public, the «Arqueta» water was allowed to flood the floor of a dark room at the basement of the spa. After a few months, a thick (up to 5 cm in some points) microbial biofilm (the «baregine of Montemayor») with abundant sulphur oxidating bacteria and a gelatinous microbial mass (bioglea) had developed. This work deals with the macroscopic and microscopic description of the structure of the «baregine» and the associated microbial ecosystem which is a type of sulfuretum. The morphological diversity of the microorganisms and their communities has