Abstract
The composition of microbial communities varies considerably across ecological environments, particularly in extreme environments, where unique microorganisms are typically used as the indicators of environmental conditions. However, the ecological reasons for the differences in microbial communities remain largely unknown. Herein, we analyzed taxonomic and functional community profiles via high-throughput sequencing to determine the alkaline saline soil bacterial and archaeal communities in the Qarhan Salt Lake area in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. The results showed that Betaproteobacteria (Proteobacteria) and Halobacteria (Euryarchaeota) were the most abundant in the soils of this area, which are common in high salinity environments. Accordingly, microbes that can adapt to local extremes typically have unique metabolic pathways and functions, such as chemoheterotrophy, aerobic chemoheterotrophy, nitrogen fixation, ureolysis, nitrate reduction, fermentation, dark hydrogen oxidation, and methanogenesis. Methanogenesis pathways include hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis, CO2 reduction with H2, and formate methanogenesis. Thus, prokaryotic microorganisms in high salinity environments are indispensable in nitrogen and carbon cycling via particular metabolic pathways.
Highlights
Extreme environments are defined as harsh conditions that are uninhabitable for most living o rganisms[1]
Many different types of halophilic and halotolerant microorganisms are found in the domain Bacteria, which is divided into many phylogenetic s ubgroups[26–29]
The dominant bacterial phyla in the five samples belonged to Proteobacteria (85.08%), followed by Bacteroidetes (10.37%) and Firmicutes (2.99%); these three bacterial phyla constituted more than 98% of all reads (Fig. 1A)
Summary
Extreme environments are defined as harsh conditions that are uninhabitable for most living o rganisms[1] They are characterized by environmental conditions such as pH, temperature, pressure, nutrients, or saline concentrations that are exceptionally high or low[2]. Extremophilic microorganisms, such as Thermophiles, Psychrophiles, Halophiles, Acidophiles, Alkalophiles, Anaerobe, Piezophiles, and Polyextremophiles, live in extreme environments because they have unique enzymatic systems, cellular structures, unique amino acid composition, or metabolic mechanisms[3–5]. Qarhan Salt Lake is the largest large-scale inland comprehensive salt deposit in China with industrial exploitation value of quaternary stone salt, potassium salt, magnesium salt, and high concentrations of boron, lithium, rubidium, cesium, bromine, iodine, and other valuable chemical elements. This study aims to (1) improve our current understanding of the prokaryotic community in a previously uncharacterized inland hypersaline environment and (2) provide clues about how microbes adapt to the extreme environments of high salinity at high altitudes
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
