Functional microbiology of soda lakes

Soda lakes represent unique permanently haloalkaline system. Despite the harsh conditions, they are inhabited by abundant, mostly prokaryotic, microbial communities. This review summarizes results of studies of main functional groups of the soda lake prokaryotes responsible for carbon, nitrogen and sulfur cycling, including oxygenic and anoxygenic phototrophs, aerobic chemolithotrophs, fermenting and respiring anaerobes. The main conclusion from this work is that the soda lakes are very different from other high-salt systems in respect to microbial richness and activity. The reason for this difference is determined by the major physico-chemical features of two dominant salts — NaCl in neutral saline systems and sodium carbonates in soda lakes, that are influencing the amount of energy required for osmotic adaptation.