title: Functional microbiology of soda lakes.
abstract: Soda lakes represent unique permanently haloalkaline system. Despite the harsh conditions, they are inhabited by abundant, mostly prokaryotic, microbial communities. This review summarizes results of studies of main functional groups of the soda lake prokaryotes responsible for carbon, nitrogen and sulfur cycling, including oxygenic and anoxygenic phototrophs, aerobic chemolithotrophs, fermenting and respiring anaerobes. The main conclusion from this work is that the soda lakes are very different from other high-salt systems in respect to microbial richness and activity. The reason for this difference is determined by the major physico-chemical features of two dominant salts - NaCl in neutral saline systems and sodium carbonates in soda lakes, that are influencing the amount of energy required for osmotic adaptation.
authors.affiliation: Winogradsky Institute of Microbiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia; Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands. Electronic address: soroc@inmi.ru.
authors.forename: Dimitry Y
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Sorokin
authors.affiliation: Institute for Interdisciplinary Research in Bio-Nano-Sciences, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Horia L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Banciu
authors.affiliation: Microbial Systems Ecology, Department of Aquatic Microbiology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Gerard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Muyzer
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism*; D057486:Carbon Cycle; D017753:Ecosystem; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D060106:Lakes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology*; D064307:Microbiota / Q000502:physiology*; D017693:Sodium Bicarbonate / Q000378:metabolism*; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000378:metabolism; D014871:Water Microbiology
chemical_list: D012965:Sodium Chloride; D017693:Sodium Bicarbonate