A Three-Component Microbial Consortium from Deep-Sea Salt-Saturated Anoxic Lake Thetis Links Anaerobic Glycine Betaine Degradation with Methanogenesis
Journal: Microorganisms
Year: 2015

Microbial communities inhabiting the deep-sea salt-saturated anoxic lakes of the Eastern Mediterranean operate under harsh physical-chemical conditions that are incompatible with the lifestyle of common marine microorganisms. Here, we investigated a stable three-component microbial consortium obtained from the brine of the recently discovered deep-sea salt-saturated Lake Thetis. The trophic network of this consortium, established at salinities up to 240, relies on fermentative decomposition of c