title: Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis of the prokaryotic community inhabiting crystallizer ponds.
abstract: A fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) protocol suitable for the identification of prokaryotes inhabiting hypersaline environments was developed and applied to several crystallizer ponds with salinities above 36% from a multipond solar saltern in Alicante, Spain. Two morphotypes were abundant in these environments: rods and square or square-like prokaryotes that could be affiliated to Bacteria and Archaea, respectively, by FISH with domain-specific probes. FISH with a newly designed probe proved that the archaeal 16S rDNA sequence most frequently recovered from the crystallizers, SPhT, originated from the dominant square-like prokaryotes. These uncultured prokaryotes have the morphology of Walsby's square bacteria. Additionally, FISH with a probe targeted to the genus Haloarcula, members of which are frequently isolated from this environment, indicated that this genus accounts for less than 0.1% of the total prokaryotic community.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biotecnología, Universidad de Alicante, San Vicente del Raspeig, Spain. anton@ua.es
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Antón
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Llobet-Brossa
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Valera
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Amann
mesh_terms: D001105:Archaea / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015342:DNA Probes; D019641:DNA, Archaeal / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D019613:Haloarcula / Q000302:isolation & purification; D019621:Haloferax / Q000302:isolation & purification; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D014871:Water Microbiology
chemical_list: D015342:DNA Probes; D019641:DNA, Archaeal; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012965:Sodium Chloride