Life in the brine of Lunenburg, Germany: unveiling microorganisms associated with Zechstein salt deposits.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

The presence of hypersaline brines on other planets and moons in the inner and outer Solar System has been well established. Hence, any theory of life on other planets must consider microorganisms adapted to high salt concentrations. The hypersaline brine from Lunenburg (Germany) with 302.25 g L^-1 NaCl, originating from the remnants of the Zechstein Sea, has long been utilized to harvest salt, but potential microbial life in the brine had never been investigated.

Methods

We employed cultivation-based and -independent methods to characterize the microbial diversity, while also analyzing environmental parameters. Specifically, we performed V1/V2 and V3/V4 amplicon sequencing of environmental DNA and conducted haloarchaeal-focused cultivation and enrichm

SUBMITTER: Runzheimer K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12650772 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature