Environmental scanning electron microscopy studies of colloidal sulfur deposition in a natural microbial community from a cold sulfide spring near Ancaster, Ontario, Canada

We have used a relatively new microscopical technique, environmental scanni ng electron microscopy (ESEM), along with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and light microscopy, to investigate a unique microbial community fro m a temperate-climate, cold sulfide spring near Ancaster, Ontario, Canada. ESEM allows the viewing of fully hydrated specimens that have not undergone the structural or chemical alterations imposed by the extensive procedures necessary for viewing biological specimens in a vacuum. Besides allowing v isualization of microorganisms in their natural form and as intact assembla ges, ESEM also detects elements, especially those higher than Si, which ten d to be lost or masked by the processes used to prepare samples for convent ional SEM and for TEM thin sections. In this study we report new informatio n about the structure of bacteriogenic sulfur deposits and their relationsh ip to the structural aspects of a natural microbial community from a cold s ulfide spring.