Differential rRNA gene metabarcoding of prokaryotic consortia in desert athalassohaline and thalassohaline brines

• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejar.2022.02.004
• Publication Date: 2022-03-10T13:01:27Z
• Authors: Hosam Elsaied; Taha Soliman; Rania Siam; Mohamad Saad Abde...; Sarah Sonbol
• Keywords: Phylotype; Sabkha; Halotolerance; Prokaryote

Culture-independent molecular study presented the first exploring and evaluation of prokaryotic communities in two desert brines; athalassohaline Lake "Aghormy", Siwa Oasis, Western Desert Egypt, thalassohaline saltern "Sebeaka Sabkha", Bardawil Lagoon, north coast Sinai. 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding generated a total 488,828 reads from both sites, grouped into 17,741 operational taxonomic units (OTUs). 3030 OTUs were shared while 2255 9426 unique to Aghormy Sebeaka Sabkha, respectively. Both sites showed an abundance Bacteroidetes, particularly genera Salisaeta Salinibacter brine was characterized by phylotypes belonging Deinococcus-Thermus, Spirochaetes, Rhodovibrio, Piscirickettsiaceae GMD14H09 (Deltaproteobacteria). While assigned AT12OctB3 (Bacteroidetes), Rhodobacteriaceae, Ectothiorhodospiraceae, Xanthomonadaceae formed Sabkha bacterial community. A Cyanobacteria-like phylotype genus Dactylococcopsis brines. The archaeal family, Halobacteriaceae, represented 4.8% reads. Although some recorded brines belonged same phyla, they differed lower ranks, implicating distant environments' impact on shaping halophilic communities. metabolic prediction analyses dominance TCA cycle, branched amino acid biosynthesis heme biosynthesis, common features for salt tolerance.