FIGURE 3.

Depth profiles of prevalent groups of sulfate-reducing bacteria in a lithifying hypersaline cyanobacterial mat. Spatial distribution patterns of distinct phylogenetic clades are based on the proportion of partial 16S rRNA gene sequences in different mat layers. A representative section of the Lake 21 mat is depicted in the middle. Numbers indicate different layers of the mat used for the generation of the corresponding 16S rRNA gene sequence libraries by high-throughput pyrosequencing of amplified DNA fragments. Modified from Schneider et al. (2013). On the left, the proportion of sequences that could be affiliated with family-level clades of sulfate-reducing bacteria is plotted against different mat layers from top to bottom. On the right, the distribution patterns of the three most prevalent genera and a species-level clade comprising the novel isolate L21-Syr-AB^T are shown. Data points are represented by dots. Lines between the data points were extrapolated.