We compared the composition of microbial communities obtained by sequencing 16S rRNA gene amplicons with taxonomy derived from metatranscriptomes from the same samples. Samples were collected from alkaline, hypersaline Mono Lake, California, USA at five depths that captured the major redox zones of the lake during the onset of meromixis. The prokaryotic community was dominated by bacteria from ...

The submarine ikaite columns located in the Ikka Fjord in Southern Greenland represent a unique, permanently cold (less than 6°C) and alkaline (above pH 10) environment and are home to a microbial community adapted to these extreme conditions. The bacterial and archaeal community inhabiting the ikaite columns and surrounding fjord was characterised by high-throughput pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA ...

Bacteria produce pigments for various reasons and it plays an important role. Some bacteria such as cyanobacteria have phycobilin pigments to carry out photosynthesis. Other example for pigment-producing bacterial strains includes Serratia marcescens that produces prodigiosin, Streptomyces coelicolor (prodigiosin and actinorhodin), Chromobacterium violaceum (violacein) and Thialkalivibrio versu...

Soda lakes represent a unique ecosystem with extremely high pH (up to 11) and salinity (up to saturation) due to the presence of high concentrations of sodium carbonate in brines. Despite these double extreme conditions, most of the lakes are highly productive and contain a fully functional microbial system. The microbial sulfur cycle is among the most active in soda lakes. One of the explanati...