Filippidou Sevasti, Price Alex, Spencer-Jones Charlotte, Scales Anthony, Macey Michael C, Franchi Fulvio, Lebogang Lesedi, Cavalazzi Barbara, Schwenzer Susanne P, Olsson-Francis Karen
AstrobiologyOU, Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, The Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK.
School of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
Microorganisms. 2024 Jan 11;12(1):147. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms12010147.
The Makgadikgadi Salt Pans are the remnants of a mega paleo-lake system in the central Kalahari, Botswana. Today, the Makgadikgadi Basin is an arid to semi-arid area receiving water of meteoric origin during the short, wet season. Large microbial mats, which support primary production, are formed due to desiccation during the dry season. This study aimed to characterise the microbial diversity of the microbial mats and the underlying sediment. The focus was the Ntwetwe Pan, located west of the Makgadikgadi Basin. Metagenomic analyses demonstrated that the mats consisted of a high relative abundance of Cyanobacteriota (synonym Cyanobacteria) (20.50-41.47%), Pseudomonadota (synonym Proteobacteria) (15.71 to 32.18%), and Actinomycetota (synonym Actinobacteria) (8.53-32.56%). In the underlying sediments, Pseudomonadota, Actinomycetota, and Euryarchaeota represented over 70% of the community. Localised fluctuations in water content and pH did not significantly affect the microbial diversity of the sediment or the mats.
马卡迪卡迪盐沼是博茨瓦纳中部卡拉哈里沙漠一个大型古湖泊系统的遗迹。如今，马卡迪卡迪盆地是一个干旱至半干旱地区，在短暂的雨季接收来自大气降水的水。在旱季，由于干燥形成了支持初级生产的大型微生物垫。本研究旨在描述微生物垫及其下伏沉积物的微生物多样性。重点是位于马卡迪卡迪盆地西部的恩特韦特韦盐沼。宏基因组分析表明，微生物垫中蓝细菌门（同义词为蓝藻）的相对丰度较高（20.50 - 41.47%）、假单胞菌门（同义词为变形菌门）（15.71至32.18%）和放线菌门（同义词为放线菌）（8.53 - 32.56%）。在下伏沉积物中，假单胞菌门、放线菌门和广古菌门占群落的70%以上。含水量和pH值的局部波动对沉积物或微生物垫的微生物多样性没有显著影响。
