What types of bacteria are found in hailstones?

Researchers have found a rich diversity of microbial life and chemicals in the ephemeral habitat of a storm cloud, according to a study published in the journal PLOS ONE by Tina Šantl Temkiv and colleagues from Aarhus University, Denmark.

The researchers found that found that storm clouds carried several species of bacteria typically found on plants and almost 3000 different compounds usually found in soil. However, the hailstones had very few soil-associated bacteria or chemicals that would usually occur in plants.

The article reference is:

Tina Šantl-Temkiv, Kai Finster, Thorsten Dittmar, Bjarne Munk Hansen, Runar Thyrhaug, Niels Woetmann Nielsen, Ulrich Gosewinkel Karlson. Hailstones: A Window into the Microbial and Chemical Inventory of a Storm Cloud. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (1)

It can be accessed here: PLOS One

Posted by Tim Sandle