Microbiological Studies on Sambhar Lake (Salt of Earth) Rajasthan, India

Sambhar Lake (Salt of Earth), the largest inland saline and alkaline lake of India is situated in the state of Rajasthan, and is referred in the epic Mahabharata. When full, it covers an area of 230 sq km. It lays some 60 km west of Jaipur, adjacent to the Salt Lake City. Flocks of flamingoes are attracted by the delicious spirulina algae that flourish when the water reaches a medium degree of salinity. There are many reports on the flora and fauna of this environment; however, there are very few reports on the isolation and characterization of extremely haloalkaliphic microorganisms, especially archaebacteria from Sambhar Lake. We initiated bacteriological studies on this unique hypersaline and alkaline environment in 1984 under the guidance of Moiz F. Mullakhanbhai who alongwith Helge G. Larsen were the first to isolate a moderately halophilic bacterium (Halobacterium volcanii, now Haloferax volcanii). Several strains of red, extremely haloalkaliphilic archaea, have been isolated and characterized from the brine and salt samples. All these strains possessed the diether core lipids, phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phosphatidylglycerophosphate (PGP), and bacterioruberins characteristic of halophilic archaea. Strains producing extremozymes (proteases, lipases, etc.) and bacteriocins have been isolated. Halophilic anoxygenic phototrophic sulfur oxidizing bacteria have also been cultivated. Data of our studies will be presented.