title: Diversity of halophilic archaea in the crystallizers of an Adriatic solar saltern.
abstract: Haloarchaeal diversity in the crystallizers of Adriatic Secovlje salterns was investigated using gene fragments encoding 16S rRNA and bacteriorhodopsin as molecular markers. Screening of 180 clones from five gene libraries constructed for each gene targeted revealed 15 different 16S rRNA and 10 different bacteriorhodopsin phylotypes, indicating higher haloarchaeal diversity than previously reported in such hypersaline environments. Furthermore, results of rarefaction analysis indicated that analysis of an increasing number of clones would have revealed additional diversity. Finally, most sequences from the crystallizers grouped within the Halorubrum branch, whereas square-shaped 'Haloquadratum' relatives, repeatedly reported to dominate crystallizer communities, were rare. Presence of such special and diverse haloarchaeal community could be attributed to the Secovlje salterns rare continuous short-cycling salt production mechanism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Vecna pot 111, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia. lejla.pasic@bf.uni-lj.si
authors.forename: Lejla
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pasić
authors.forename: Sergio Galán
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Bartual
authors.forename: Natasa Poklar
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Ulrih
authors.forename: Miklavz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grabnar
authors.forename: Blagajana Herzog
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Velikonja
mesh_terms: D001436:Bacteriorhodopsins / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D017931:DNA Primers; D015723:Gene Library; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006216:Halobacteriaceae / Q000235:genetics*; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008522:Mediterranean Sea; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012623:Seawater / Q000032:analysis / Q000382:microbiology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017524:Slovenia
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D001436:Bacteriorhodopsins