Archaeal and bacterial communities respond differently to environmental gradients in anoxic sediments of a California hypersaline lake, the Salton Sea.

ABSTRACT: Sulfidic, anoxic sediments of the moderately hypersaline Salton Sea contain gradients in salinity and carbon that potentially structure the sedimentary microbial community. We investigated the abundance, community structure, and diversity of Bacteria and Archaea along these gradients to further distinguish the ecologies of these domains outside their established physiological range. Quantitative PCR was used to enumerate 16S rRNA gene abundances of Bacteria, Archaea, and Crenarchaeota. Community structure and diversity were evaluated by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP), quantitative analysis of gene (16S rRNA) frequencies of dominant microorganisms, and cloning and sequencing of 16S rRNA. Archaea were numerically dominant at all depths and exhibited a lesser respo

SUBMITTER: Swan BK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2812989 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature