Establishment of a Halophilic Bloom in a Sterile and Isolated Hypersaline Mesocosm.

ABSTRACT: Extreme environments, including hypersaline pools, often serve as biogeographical islands. Putative colonizers would need to survive transport across potentially vast distances of inhospitable terrain. Hyperhalophiles, in particular, are often highly sensitive to osmotic pressure. Here, we assessed whether hyperhalophiles are capable of rapidly colonizing an isolated and sterile hypersaline pool and the order of succession of the ensuing colonizers. A sterile and isolated 1 m³ hypersaline mesocosm pool was constructed on a rooftop in Charleston, SC. Within months, numerous halophilic lineages successfully navigated the 20 m elevation and the greater than 1 km distance from the ocean shore, and a vibrant halophilic community was established. All told, in a nine-month period, grea

SUBMITTER: Rhodes ME 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10745797 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature