@article {Edgcomb2016,
	title = {{Gene expression profiling of microbial activities and interactions in sediments under haloclines of E. Mediterranean deep hypersaline anoxic basins}},
	journal = {ISME Journal},
	volume = {10},
	year = {2016},
	pages = {2643{\textendash}2657},
	abstract = {Deep-sea hypersaline anoxic basins (DHABs) in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea are considered some of the most polyextreme habitats on Earth. In comparison to microbial activities occurring within the haloclines and brines of these unusual water column habitats near the Mediterranean seafloor, relatively little is known about microbial metabolic activities in the underlying sediments. In addition, it is not known whether activities are shaped by the unique chemistries of the different DHAB brines and whether evidence exists for active microbial eukaryotes in those sediments. Metatranscriptome analysis was applied to sediment samples collected using ROV Jason from underneath the haloclines of Urania, Discovery and L{\textquoteright}Atalante DHABs and a control site. We report on expression of genes associated with sulfur and nitrogen cycling, putative osmolyte biosynthetic pathways and ion transporters, trace metal detoxification, selected eukaryotic activities (particularly of fungi), microbemicrobe interactions, and motility in sediments underlying the haloclines of three DHABs. Relative to our control sediment sample collected outside of Urania Basin, microbial communities (including eukaryotes) in the Urania and Discovery DHAB sediments showed upregulation of expressed genes associated with nitrogen transformations, osmolyte biosynthesis, heavy metals resistance and metabolism, eukaryotic organelle functions, and cell-cell interactions. Sediments underlying DHAB haloclines that have cumulative physico-chemical stressors within the limits of tolerance for microoorganisms can therefore be hotspots of activity in the deep Mediterranean Sea.},
	keywords = {ROV Jason (Remotely Operated Vehicle)},
	doi = {10.1038/ismej.2016.58},
	author = {Edgcomb, V P and Pachiadaki, M and Mara, P and Kormas, K and Leadbetter, E R and Bernhard, J M}
}
@article {Kormas2015,
	title = {{Inter-comparison of the potentially active prokaryotic communities in the halocline sediments of Mediterranean deep-sea hypersaline basins}},
	journal = {Extremophiles},
	volume = {19},
	year = {2015},
	pages = {949{\textendash}960},
	abstract = {The sediment microbiota of the Mediterranean deep-sea anoxic hypersaline basins (DHABs) are understudied relative to communities in the brines and halocline waters. In this study, the active fraction of the prokaryotic community in the halocline sediments of L{\textquoteright} Atalante, Urania, and Discovery DHABs was investigated based on extracted total RNA and 454 pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Bacterial and archaeal communities were different in the sediments underlying the halocline waters of the three habitats, reflecting the unique chemical settings of each basin. The relative abundance of unique operational taxonomic units (OTUs) was also different between deep-sea control sediments and sediments underlying DHAB haloclines, suggesting adaptation to the steep DHAB chemical gradients. Only a few OTUs were affiliated to known bacterial halophilic and/or anaerobic groups. Many OTUs, including some of the dominant ones, were related to aerobic taxa. Archaea were detected only in few halocline samples, with lower OTU richness relative to Bacteria, and were dominated by taxa associated with methane cycling. This study suggests that, while metabolically active prokaryotic communities appear to be present in sediments underlying the three DHABs investigated, their diversity and activity are likely to be more reduced in sediments underlying the brines.},
	keywords = {ROV Jason (Remotely Operated Vehicle)},
	author = {Kormas, K and Pachiadaki, M and Karayanni, H and Leadbetter, E R and Bernhard, J M and Edgcomb, V P}
}
