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Science 7 January 2005:
Vol. 307. no. 5706, pp. 121 - 123
DOI: 10.1126/science.1103569
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Reports

The Enigma of Prokaryotic Life in Deep Hypersaline Anoxic Basins

Paul W. J. J. van der Wielen,1*{dagger} Henk Bolhuis,1 Sara Borin,2 Daniele Daffonchio,2 Cesare Corselli,3 Laura Giuliano,4 Giuseppe D'Auria,4 Gert J. de Lange,5 Andreas Huebner,5 Sotirios P. Varnavas,6 John Thomson,7 Christian Tamburini,8 Danielle Marty,8 Terry J. McGenity,9 Kenneth N. Timmis,9,10 BioDeep Scientific Party

Deep hypersaline anoxic basins in the Mediterranean Sea are a legacy of dissolution of ancient subterranean salt deposits from the Miocene period. Our study revealed that these hypersaline basins are not biogeochemical dead ends, but support in situ sulfate reduction, methanogenesis, and heterotrophic activity. A wide diversity of prokaryotes was observed, including a new, abundant, deeply branching order within the Euryarchaeota. Furthermore, we demonstrated the presence of a unique, metabolically active microbial community in the Discovery basin, which is one of the most extreme terrestrial saline environments known, as it is almost saturated with MgCl2 (5 M).

1 Laboratory of Microbial Ecology, University of Groningen, 9751 NN Haren, Netherlands.
2 Consorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario per le Scienze del Mare (CoNISMa), Università degli Studi di Milano, URL: DiSTAM, 20133 Milan, Italy.
3 CoNISMa, Università degli Studi di Milano Bicocca, URL: DGSG, 20126 Milan, Italy.
4 Istituto per L'Ambiente Marino Costiero, CNR, 98122 Messina, Italy.
5 Faculty of Geosciences, Geochemistry, Utrecht University, 3508 TA Utrecht, Netherlands.
6 Department of Geology, University of Patras, 26500 Patras, Greece.
7 Southampton Oceanography Centre, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, UK.
8 Laboratoire de Microbiologie, Géochimie & Ecologie des Marines (LMGEM), UMR 6117 CNRS, Université de la Méditerranée, 13 288 Marseille Cedex 9, France.
9 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, Essex CO4 3SQ, UK.
10 Division of Microbiology, Gesellschaft für Biotechnologische Forschung mbH (GBF), D-38124 Braunschweig, Germany.



* Present address, Kiwa Water Research, Post Office Box 1072, 3430 BB Nieuwegein, Netherlands.

{dagger} To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: paul.van.der.wielen{at}kiwa.nl

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