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Metataxonomic analysis of halophilic archaea community in two geothermal oases in the southern Tunisian Sahara

Najjari, Afef ; Elmnasri, Khaled ; Cherif, Hanene ; Burleigh, Stephen LU ; Guesmi, Amel ; Mahjoubi, Mouna ; Linares-Pastén, Javier A. LU orcid ; Cherif, Ameur and Ouzari, Hadda-Imene (2025) In FEMS Microbiology Letters 372.
Abstract

This study assesses halophilic archaea's phylogenetic diversity in southern Tunisia's geothermal water. In the arid southern regions, limited surface freshwater resources make geothermal waters a vital source for oases and greenhouse irrigation. Three samples, including water, sediment, and halite-soil crust, were collected downstream of two geothermal springs of the Ksar Ghilane (KGH) and Zaouet Al Aness (ZAN) oases, Tunisia. The samples were subjected to 16S rRNA gene sequencing using the Illumina Miseq sequencing approach. Several haloarchaea were identified in the geothermal springs. The average taxonomic composition revealed that 20 out of 33 genera were shared between the two geothermal sources, with uneven distribution, where the... (More)

This study assesses halophilic archaea's phylogenetic diversity in southern Tunisia's geothermal water. In the arid southern regions, limited surface freshwater resources make geothermal waters a vital source for oases and greenhouse irrigation. Three samples, including water, sediment, and halite-soil crust, were collected downstream of two geothermal springs of the Ksar Ghilane (KGH) and Zaouet Al Aness (ZAN) oases, Tunisia. The samples were subjected to 16S rRNA gene sequencing using the Illumina Miseq sequencing approach. Several haloarchaea were identified in the geothermal springs. The average taxonomic composition revealed that 20 out of 33 genera were shared between the two geothermal sources, with uneven distribution, where the Halogranum genus was the most represented genus with an abundance of 18.9% and 11.58% for ZAW and KGH, respectively. Several unique site-specific genera were observed: Halonotius, Halopelagius, Natronorubrum, and Haloarcula in ZAN, and Haloprofundus, Halomarina, Halovivax, Haloplanus, Natrinema, Halobium, Natronoarchaeum, and Haloterrigena in the KGH pool. Most genus members are typically found in low-salinity ecosystems. These findings suggest that haloarchaea can disperse downstream from geothermal sources and may survive temperature and chemical fluctuations in the runoff.

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author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
geothermal springs, haloarchaea, Halogranum, metataxonomic, oases
in
FEMS Microbiology Letters
volume
372
article number
fnae106
publisher
Oxford University Press
external identifiers
  • pmid:39657077
  • scopus:85215148131
ISSN
1574-6968
DOI
10.1093/femsle/fnae106
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
e3f10fa8-ea84-4ef2-bfa7-2e9a8e57526d
date added to LUP
2024-12-06 19:37:45
date last changed
2025-07-16 00:38:43
@article{e3f10fa8-ea84-4ef2-bfa7-2e9a8e57526d,
  abstract     = {{<p>This study assesses halophilic archaea's phylogenetic diversity in southern Tunisia's geothermal water. In the arid southern regions, limited surface freshwater resources make geothermal waters a vital source for oases and greenhouse irrigation. Three samples, including water, sediment, and halite-soil crust, were collected downstream of two geothermal springs of the Ksar Ghilane (KGH) and Zaouet Al Aness (ZAN) oases, Tunisia. The samples were subjected to 16S rRNA gene sequencing using the Illumina Miseq sequencing approach. Several haloarchaea were identified in the geothermal springs. The average taxonomic composition revealed that 20 out of 33 genera were shared between the two geothermal sources, with uneven distribution, where the Halogranum genus was the most represented genus with an abundance of 18.9% and 11.58% for ZAW and KGH, respectively. Several unique site-specific genera were observed: Halonotius, Halopelagius, Natronorubrum, and Haloarcula in ZAN, and Haloprofundus, Halomarina, Halovivax, Haloplanus, Natrinema, Halobium, Natronoarchaeum, and Haloterrigena in the KGH pool. Most genus members are typically found in low-salinity ecosystems. These findings suggest that haloarchaea can disperse downstream from geothermal sources and may survive temperature and chemical fluctuations in the runoff.</p>}},
  author       = {{Najjari, Afef and Elmnasri, Khaled and Cherif, Hanene and Burleigh, Stephen and Guesmi, Amel and Mahjoubi, Mouna and Linares-Pastén, Javier A. and Cherif, Ameur and Ouzari, Hadda-Imene}},
  issn         = {{1574-6968}},
  keywords     = {{geothermal springs; haloarchaea; Halogranum; metataxonomic; oases}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Oxford University Press}},
  series       = {{FEMS Microbiology Letters}},
  title        = {{Metataxonomic analysis of halophilic archaea community in two geothermal oases in the southern Tunisian Sahara}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/femsle/fnae106}},
  doi          = {{10.1093/femsle/fnae106}},
  volume       = {{372}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}