Microbial Communities in the Dead Sea — Past, Present and Future. In: Gunde-cimerman N, Oren A, Plemenitaš A, editors. Adaptation to Life at High Salt Concentrations in Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands; 2005. pp. 27-39. [DOI: 10.1007/1-4020-3633-7_3]

Isolation of Halomicroarcula pellucida strain GUMF5, an archaeon from the Dead Sea-Israel possessing cellulase

A strain designated GUMF5 was isolated in Goa-India from sediments of Dead Sea-Israel  and identified as haloarchaeon Halomicroarcula pellucida based on 16S rRNA gene analysis similarity value of 99.84%. Strain GUMF5 grew on mineral salts medium with 20% NaCl and 0.5% carboxymethyl cellulose-sodium (CMC-Na) as a sole source of carbon and produced haloextremozyme cellulase. The enzyme was concentrated using Sephadex G20, precipitated with ethanol, dialyzed and retentate purified using Sephadex G200, the size exclusion chromatography. A yield of 78.53% cellulase with an activity of 131.13 U/mg and 1.24-fold purity was obtained. The purified cellulase had optimum activity at 20% NaCl, at 40 ºC, 0.5% CMC-Na, pH 7 and 150 rpm. SDS-PAGE combined with zymographic analysis revealed the molecular weight of cellulase as 240 kDa, 40 kDa and 17.4 kDa. The activity of the enzyme was stimulated by metallic cations in the order of Ca⁺² > Mn⁺² > Mg⁺² > SO₄ ^2- > NH₄ ⁺ and was inhibited by Ag⁺  > Fe⁺² > Cu⁺². Methanol and ethanol enhanced the cellulase activity by 6% and 26%, respectively. The haloextremozyme cellulase degraded Whatman No. 1 filter paper indicated in scanning electron micrographs, exposure of open pores and fibers without any intra connectivity corresponding to paperase activity and implicating the possible use of enzyme to bio-convert cellulosic waste. Conclusively, Halomicroarcula pellucida GUMF5 (Accession number: MH244431), globally, is the only Halomicroarcula pellucida isolated from the sediments of Dead Sea producing haloextremozyme cellulase, and hence is an important biotechnological resource.

Antimicrobial Activity of Bacillus Persicus 24-DSM Isolated from Dead Sea Mud

Intorduction:

Dead Sea is a hypersaline lake with 34% salinity, gains its name due to the absence of any living macroscopic creatures. Despite the extreme hypersaline environment, it is a unique ecosystem for various halophilic microorganisms adapted to this environment.

Aims & Objectives:

Halophilic microorganisms are known for various potential biotechnological applications, the purpose of the current research is isolation and screening of halophilic bacteria from Dead Sea mud for potential antimicrobial applications.

Methods & Materials:

Screening for antagonistic bacteria was conducted by bacterial isolation from Dead Sea mud samples and agar plate antagonistic assay. The potential antagonistic isolates were subjected to biochemical characterization and identification by 16S-rRNA sequencing. Among the collected isolates, four isolates showed potential antagonistic activity against Bacillus subtilis 6633 and Escherichia coli 8739. The most active isolate (24-DSM) was subjected for antagonistic activity and minimal inhibitory concentration against different gram positive and negative bacterial strains after cultivation in different salt concentration media. Results: The results of 16S-rRNA analysis revealed that 24-DSM is very closely related to Bacillus persicus strain B48, which was isolated from hypersaline lake in Iran.

Conclusion:

Therefore, the isolate 24-DSM is assigned as a new strain of B. persicusi isolated from the Dead Sea mud. B. persicusi 24-DSM showed higher antimicrobial activity, when it was cultivated with saline medium, against all tested bacterial strains, where the most sensitive bacterial strain was Corynebacterium diphtheria 51696.

Rhizosphere effect and salinity competing to shape microbial communities in Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex-Steud

Rhizobacterial communities associated with Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. in a hypersaline pond close to Wuliangsuhai Lake (Inner Mongolia - China) were investigated and compared with the microbial communities in bulk sediments of the same pond. Microbiological analyses have been done by automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA) and partial 16S rRNA gene 454 pyrosequencing. Although community richness was higher in the rhizosphere samples than in bulk sediments, the salinity seemed to be the major factor shaping the structure of the microbial communities. Halanaerobiales was the most abundant taxon found in all the different samples and Desulfosalsimonas was observed to be present more in the rhizosphere rather than in bulk sediment.