Studying Thermophiles In Yellowstone National Park
Ask any Yellowstone park ranger about hazards in the park, and you will soon learn that hydrothermal features (not bears) have caused more harm than any other natural threat. Park records attribute hundreds of visitor injuries and more than 20 deaths to thermal burns, but not all organisms succumb to high temperatures.
Thermophiles (from Greek “thermo-” meaning heat and “-phile” meaning lover) can belong to the biological kingdoms of archaea, bacteria, or fungi, and they actually thrive at high temperatures between 41 and 122 °C (106 and 252 °F). The unique protein and lipid structures of these heat-loving microorganisms remain stable and functional at high temperatures that would quickly destroy human tissues.
Researchers study thermophiles in Yellowstone to understand biogeochemical processes in extreme environments and explore technological applications of these processes to improve life for humans at ambient temperatures. For example, study of a bacteria collected from a Yellowstone hot spring in 1966 led to a Nobel Prize in chemistry and ultimately helped the medical field develop tests for viruses like COVID-19!
A recent effort to learn how Yellowstone’s thermophiles can help to develop new technologies is the multi-institutional BioNitrogen Economy Research Center (BNERC), which is made up of researchers from South Dakota State University, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (South Dakota Mines), University of South Dakota, Oglala Lakota College, and industry partner Houdek Nature.
The center’s goal is to study sustainable alternatives to agricultural nitrogen products, which at present are primarily derived from fossil fuels. Yellowstone’s thermophiles, specifically nitrogen-fixing thermophilic cyanobacteria, make one such promising alternative.
Like plants, nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria convert atmospheric carbon dioxide and nitrogen gases into biologically usable forms via photosynthesis. Chlorophyll pigments play a crucial role in photosynthesis and give cyanobacteria the vibrant green color observed in many of Yellowstone’s hot springs and runoff channels. Unlike plants, thermophilic cyanobacteria efficiently perform these processes at high temperatures ranging from 45 to 73 °C (113 to 167 °F), hot enough to cause humans second- and third-degree burns within seconds of exposure.
BNERC researchers from South Dakota Mines visited Yellowstone National Park in August 2025 to conduct initial sampling of thermophilic cyanobacteria from hydrothermal features in Yellowstone’s Lower Geyser Basin. Researchers measured water temperature and pH at multiple sites and collected samples of the greenest thermophilic cyanobacteria to analyze with high-resolution microscopes and mass spectrometers. “These heat-loving cyanobacteria are far more than Yellowstone curiosities — they are living blueprints of resilience. At BNERC, we are harnessing their extraordinary traits to spark innovations that can touch everyday life, from renewable materials to cleaner industries.
By learning from organisms that thrive in extremes, we are opening pathways to technologies that could help build a more sustainable and adaptable future,” said Dr. Tanvi Govil, Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at South Dakota Mines.
During field sampling, Dr. Rajesh Sani, professor in the Karen M. Swindler Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and in the Department of Chemistry, Biology and Health Sciences at South Dakota Mines, described more biotechnological applications of thermophilic cyanobacteria research beyond sustainable agriculture: biofuels, bioplastics, pharmaceuticals, and groundbreaking genetic techniques made possible by the discovery of Thermus aquaticus in Yellowstone. “Plastics are like diamonds – they’re forever,” Sani mused, but durable bioplastics that degrade after 80 days are lab-tested and approaching economic viability thanks to life lessons learned from thermophilic cyanobacteria.
National parks are living laboratories for scientific research. By studying and replicating natural processes observed in Yellowstone’s thermophilic cyanobacteria, academic and industry research partners at BNERC and other institutes across the country and around the world are paving the way to future discovery and technological development. What wonders of nature and technology will the microbial wildlife of our first national park reveal next?
Astrobiology,
