Unique features of extremely halophilic microbiota inhabiting solar saltwork fields of Vietnam.

Solar salterns, renowned as extreme environments with salinities at or near saturation, are artificial thalassohaline-hypersaline ecosystems widely distributed worldwide. They capitalize on salinity gradients for solar salt production.Two Vietnamese artisanal marine solar saltwork fields were chosen for sampling: the Hon Khoi Salt Fields, Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa Province, one of the largest salt-making areas in Central Vietnam and Hai Ly, Hai Hau, Nam Dhin Province, local decommissioned salt fields in northern Vietnam. For Italian samples were collected from as many artisanal, solar saltwork in western Sicily: Trapani Salterns and Marsala Salterns.Here we present the NGS metabarcoding characterization of prokaryotic extremely halophilic communities, thriving in the salt crystallizer ponds of these areas.