Data from: Metabarcoding under Brine: Microbial ecology of five hyper-saline lakes at Rottnest Island (WA, Australia)

Hypersaline ecosystems - aquatic environments where concentration of salt
exceeds 35 g/L - host microbial communities which are highly specialized
to cope with these extreme conditions. However, our knowledge on the
taxonomic diversity and functional metabolisms characterising microbial
communities in the water columns of hypersaline ecosystems is still
limited, and this lack of knowledge may compromise the future preservation
of these unique environments. DNA metabarcoding provides a reliable and
affordable tool to investigate environmental dynamics of aquatic
ecosystems, and its use in brine can be highly informative. Here, we make
use of bacterial 16S metabarcoding techniques combined with hydrochemical
analyses to investigate the microbial patterns (diversity and functions)
from five hypersaline lakes located at Rottnest Island (WA). Our results
indicate lake-driven microbial aquatic assemblages characterised by
taxonomically and functionally moderately to extremely halophilic groups,
with TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) and alkalinity amongst the most
influential parameters driving the community assemblages. Overall, our
findings suggest that DNA metabarcoding allows rapid but reliable
ecological assessment of the hypersaline aquatic microbial communities at
Rottnest Island. Further studies involving different hypersaline lakes
across multiple seasons will help elucidate the full extent of the
potential of this tool in brine.

高盐生态系统（hypersaline ecosystems）是指盐浓度超过35 g/L的水生环境，其内栖息着高度特化以适应这类极端条件的微生物群落。然而，目前学界对高盐生态系统水体柱中微生物群落的分类多样性与功能代谢特征的认知仍较为有限，这一认知缺口可能会危及这类独特生境的未来保护工作。DNA代谢条形码（DNA metabarcoding）为水生生态系统环境动态的研究提供了可靠且经济的工具，其在卤水（brine）中的应用亦极具参考价值。本研究结合细菌16S代谢条形码技术与水化学分析，对位于西澳大利亚州罗特内斯特岛的五个高盐湖泊的微生物群落特征（多样性与功能）展开了探究。研究结果显示，湖泊驱动形成的水生微生物群落以分类学与功能学上兼具中度至极端嗜盐性的类群为核心特征，总溶解固体（Total Dissolved Solids, TDS）与碱度是驱动群落组成的最关键环境参数之一。综上，本研究结果表明，DNA代谢条形码可实现对罗特内斯特岛高盐水生微生物群落快速且可靠的生态评估。后续可针对不同季节下的多个高盐湖泊开展研究，以明晰该工具在卤水研究中的应用潜力全貌。