3rd International Conference on Multidisciplinary Research & Practice P a g e | 474 Characterization of Microbial Diversity in Soda Lake Brajesh Kumar Assistant Professor, Prabhu Dhan Degree College, Bhorugram, Nyagal Bari, Rajasthan Abstract:- Lonar Lake is a saline soda lake located at Lonar in II. MICROBIAL DIVERSITY Buldhana district, Maharashtra, India, which was created by a meteor impact during the Pleistocene Epoch and it is the only Microbes in soda lake ecosystems have attracted considerable known hyper velocity impact crater in basaltic rock anywhere on attention as a source for biomolecules with biotechnological Earth. potential. Understanding life in soda lake environments may help answer key questions related to early life as fossilized This lake, which lies in a basalt impact structure, is both saline and alkaline in nature. Geologists, ecologists, archaeologists, alkaline playa lakes have been implied in the 2.3 billion-year- naturalists and astronomers have published studies of various old Ventersdorp geological formation in South Africa aspects of this crater lake ecosystem. Lonar Lake has a mean (Karpeta, 1989; Jones et al., 1998). Here, we review the diameter of 1.2 kilometres (3,900 ft) and is about 137 metres (449 microbiology of Lonar Lake and other soda lake environments ft) below the crater rim. The meteor crater rim is about 1.8 and implications for exploring and exploiting the functional kilometres (5,900 ft) in diameter. diversity of microbial life at high pH. The circular depression bears a saline water lake in its central Total seventy four bacteria were isolated from Lonar soda portion.The crater's age is usually estimated to be 52,000 ± 6,000 lake of Maharashtra state, India. Eleven isolates were years (Pleistocene), although a study published in 2010 gives an identified using morphological, biochemical and molecular age of 570,000 ± 47,000 years. analysis. The bacteria isolated belonged to phylum firmicutes The Smithsonian Institution, the United States Geological and proteobacteria. Majorities (eight) were firmicutes and Survey, Geological Society of India, the University of Sagar and three were proteobacteria. For the first time we are the Physical Research Laboratory have conducted extensive reporting Alcanivorax spp. which is a genus well known for studies of the site. Biological nitrogen fixation was discovered in its oil degradation capacity, indicate the probable existence of this lake in 2007 oil reservoir in vicinity of Lonar lake. In addition all the Keywords: Soda Lake, microbial diversity. eleven bacteria are potential producers of industrially important enzymes, pigments, antibiotics as well. I. INTRODUCTION III. MATERIALS AND METHODS oda lakes are considered exceptional to all other aquatic S ecosystems in simultaneously exhibiting high productivity Lonar lake (19°58′N and 76°31′E) is in the formerly volcanic rates (>10 g cm−2 per day), and high pH (9.0–12.0) and Deccan trap geological region. Sediment (SD) and surface salinity (up to saturation concentrations) (Melack and Kilham, (SU) water samples were collected in the pre-monsoon 1974; Grant, 2006). Although they are widely distributed season. Water samples were treated and analyzed for chemical across the globe (Grant and Sorokin, 2011), only a few have and physical properties. Metals were analyzed using a Flame been studied (Supplementary Table S1). Many soda lakes Photometer (CL-361 ELICO, India). The samples were experience massive seasonal or permanent microbial blooms inoculated into three different media such as, nutrient broth at often resulting in distinct coloration of the lake water (Grantet pH 10.5 [A]; nutrient broth at pH 10.5 with 30 g/l sodium al., 1990). Soda lakes harbor considerably diverse microbial chloride [B] and Tindal’s medium [C] and incubated at 30°C populations (Grant et al., 1990; Zavarzin et al., 1999). for 8 days on a shaking incubator at 200 rpm speed. After enrichment, bacteria were isolated on respective agar media Cultivation-dependent and -independent surveys of soda and pure cultures were maintained. lakes in the East African Rift valley resulted in the isolation of several hundred strains of aerobic, heterotrophic and III. OVERVIEW OF MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES IN (halo)alkaliphilic Bacteria and Archaea (Duckworth et al., OTHER SODA LAKES 1996; reviewed in Grant and Sorokin, 2011) and the detection of several novel lineages of Soda lakes in the East African Rift valley, Kulunda- putative Bacteria and Archaea (Grant et al., 1999; Rees et al., Transbaikal steppes and the USA constitute some of the best 2004). The microbial diversity of Lonar Lake, a saline and characterized soda lakes in the world and several novel genera alkaline ecosystem centered at a meteorite impact crater and species of autotrophic and heterotrophic microorganisms structure in the Deccan basalts in India, has been explored have been described from them (reviewed in Grant and recently (Wani et al., 2006; Surakasi et al., Sorokin, 2011). Numbers of cultivatable aerobic and 2007, 2010; Joshi et al., 2008; Antony et al., anaerobic Bacteria in the dilute East African soda lakes 2010, 2012a, 2012b). approximated 105–106 CFU ml−1 (Grant et al., 1990; Jones et Volume IV Issue I IJRSI ISSN 2321-2705 3rd International Conference on Multidisciplinary Research & Practice P a g e | 475 al., 1998). Duckworth and co-workers (1996) isolated Biotechnol. 2002;18:785–789. doi: alkaliphilic Bacteria related to Halomonas, Bacillus and 10.1023/A:1020481126362. [Cross Ref] [10]. Joshi AA, Kanekar PP, Kelkar AS, Shouche YS, Wani AA. Arthrobacter and alkaliphilic Archaea related to Cultivable bacterial diversity of Lonar lake, India. Microb Natronococcus and Natronobacterium from East African soda Ecol. 2007;55:163–172. doi: 10.1007/s00248-007-9264- lakes. Photosynthetic primary productivity in these lakes has 8. [PubMed] [Cross Ref] been attributed mainly to Arthrospira spp., although other [11]. F. Jourdan; F. Moynier; C. Koeberl; S. 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