Microbiome of the deep Lake Baikal, a unique oxic bathypelagic habitat

Lake Baikal, the world's deepest lake, harbors a unique bathypelagic freshwater microbiome distinct from marine counterparts. Research reveals that Thaumarchaeota and candidate phyla radiation (CPR) dominate its deep waters, with significant activity in nitrification and methane oxidation. Unlike oceanic samples at similar depths, Baikal's microbiome is characterized by the absence of Deltaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria but the presence of Betaproteobacteriales, CPR, and DPANN superphylum. The study analyzed metagenomes from 1250 and 1350 m depths, assembling 231 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) to uncover these taxonomic and metabolic differences. Depth appears less influential than salinity in shaping the microbial community structure.

Cabello‐Yeves, P. J., Zemskaya, T. I., Zakharenko, A. S., Sakirko, M. V., Ivanov, V. G., Ghai, R., & Rodriguez‐Valera, F. (2019). Microbiome of the deep Lake Baikal, a unique oxic bathypelagic habitat. Limnology and Oceanography, 65(7), 1471–1488. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.11401