Objective: In order to explore the diversity of cultured halophilic archaeon from hypersaline environments in Lop Nur region and their potential application.
Methods: Total 13 soil samples were collected from Lop Nur regions. Halophilic archaea strains were isolated and identified by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. In addition, 17 strains were selected based on different branches in pylogenetic tree, and their salt concentration tolerance and amylase, protease, esterase activities were further detected by conventional methods.
Results: The 16S rRNA gene sequences of 56 selected strains were determined, and the phylogenetic analysis was carried out. These strains were classified into 10 known genera and 5 new potential genera, and the Shannon index was 1.820. The range of salt concentration tolerance of most strains was 10% - 35% (optimum at 20% - 25%). Amylase positive rate was 70.6%, protease positive rate was 35.3% and esterase positive rate was 82.4%.
Conclusion: Diverse halophilic archaeon were discovered in Lop Nur regions. The isolation methods that we used were successful for isolating halophilic archaeon from these areas, which provided the technical basis to future explore the resources of halophilic archaeon in Lop Nur regions.