Abstract
The deep-sea brines of the Red Sea are unusual extreme environments and form characteristically steep gradients across the brine-seawater interfaces. Due to their unusual nature and unique combination of physical-chemical conditions these interfaces provide an interesting source of new findings in the fields of geochemistry, geology, microbiology, biotechnology, virology, and general biology. The current chapter summarizes recent and new results in the study of geochemistry and life at the interfaces of brine-filled deeps of the Red Sea.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Abdallah RZ, Adel M, Ouf A, Sayed A, Ghazy MA, Alam I, Essack M, Lafi FF, Bajic VB, El-Dorry H, Siam R (2014) Aerobic methanotrophic communities at the Red Sea brine–seawater interface. Front Microbiol 5:487
Alam I, Antunes A, Kamau AA, Kalkawati M, Stingl U, Bajic VB (2013) INDIGO—Integrated data warehouse of microbial genomes with examples from the Red Sea extremophiles. PLoS ONE 8(12):e82210. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0082210
Albarakati AMA, McGinnis DF, Ahmad F, Linke P, Dengler M, Feldens P, Schmidt M, Al-Farawati R (2016) Thermal small steps staircase and layer migration in the Atlantis II Deep, Red Sea. Arab J Geosci 9:392. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-016-2399-5
Antunes A (2017) Extreme Red Sea: life in the deep-sea anoxic brine lakes. In: Agius DA, Khalil E, Scerri E, Williams A (eds) Human interaction with the environment in the Red Sea: selected papers of red Sea Project VI. E. J. Brill, Leiden, Netherlands, pp 30–47. ISBN 978-9004326033. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004330825_004
Antunes A, Eder W, Fareleira P, Santos H, Huber R (2003) Salinisphaera shabanensis gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel, moderately halophilic bacterium from the brine–seawater interface of the Shaban Deep, Red Sea. Extremophiles 7(1):29–34
Antunes A, França L, Rainey FA, Huber R, Nobre MF, Edwards KJ, da Costa MS (2007) Marinobacter salsuginis sp. nov., isolated from the brine–seawater interface of the Shaban Deep, Red Sea. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 57(5):1035–1040
Antunes A, Rainey F, Wanner G, Taborda M, Pätzold J, Nobre MF, da Costa MS, Huber R (2008a) A new lineage of halophilic, wall-less, contractile bacteria from a brine-filled Deep of the Red Sea. J Bacteriol 190:3580–3587
Antunes A, Taborda M, Huber R, Moissl C, Nobre MF, da Costa MS (2008b) Halorhabdus tiamatea sp. nov., a non-pigmented, extremely halophilic archaeon from a deep-sea, hypersaline anoxic basin of the Red Sea, and emended description of the genus Halorhabdus. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 58(1):215–220
Antunes A, Alam I, Bajic VB, Stingl U (2011a) Genome sequence of Salinisphaera shabanensis, a gammaproteobacterium from the harsh, variable environment of the brine-seawater interface of the Shaban Deep in the Red Sea. J Bacteriol 193(17):4555–4556
Antunes A, Ngugi DK, Stingl U (2011b) Microbiology of the Red Sea (and other) deep-sea anoxic brine lakes. Environ Microbiol Rep 3(4):416–433
Antunes A, Alam I, Simões MF, Daniels C, Ferreira AJS, Siam R, El-Dorry H, Bajic VB (2015) First insights into the viral communities of the deep-sea anoxic brines of the Red Sea. Genomics Proteomics Bioinform 13(5):304–309
Antunes A, Simões MF, Crespo-Medina M, Vetriani C, Shimane Y (2017a) Salinisphaera. In: Whitman WB, Rainey F, Kämpfer P, Trujillo M, Chun J, DeVos P, Hedlund B, Dedysh S (eds) Bergey’s manual of systematics of archaea and bacteria. Wiley, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118960608.gbm01423
Antunes A, Simões MF, Grötzinger SW, Eppinger J, Bragança J, Bajic VB (2017b) Bioprospecting archaea: focus on extreme halophiles. In: Patterson R, Lima N (eds) Bioprospecting: success, potential and constraints. Topics in biodiversity and conservation, vol 16. Springer, Berlin, pp 81–112. ISBN 978-3319479330. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47935-4_5
Anschutz P (2015) Hydrothermal activity and paleoenvironments of the Atlantis II Deep. In: Rasul NMA, Stewart ICF (eds) The Red Sea: the formation, morphology, oceanography and environment of a young ocean basin. Springer Earth System Sciences, Berlin, pp 235–249
Anschutz P, Blanc G, Chatin F, Geiller M, Pierret MC (1999) Hydrographic change during 20 years in the brine-filled basins of the Red Sea. Deep Sea Res 46:1779–1792
Beal EJ, House CH, Orphan VJ (2009) Manganese- and iron-dependent marine methane oxidation. Science 325(5937):184–187. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1169984
Botz R, Schmidt M, Kus J, Ostertag-Henning C, Ehrhardt A, Olgun N, Garbe-Schönberg D, Scholten J (2011) Carbonate recrystallisation and organic matter maturation in heat-affected sediments from the Shaban Deep, Red Sea. Chem Geol 280:126–143
Botz R, Schmidt M, Wehner H, Hufnagel H, Stoffers P (2007) Organic-rich sediments in brine-filled Shaban and Kebrit Deeps, northern Red Sea. Chem Geol 244:520–553. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2007.07.004
Bougouffa S, Yang JK, Lee OO, Wang Y, Batang Z, Al-Suwailem A, Qian PY (2013) Distinctive microbial community structure in highly stratified deep-sea brine water columns. Appl Environ Microbiol 79(11):3425–3437
Cordes EE, Bergquist DC, Fisher CR (2009) Macro-ecology of Gulf of Mexico cold seeps. Ann Rev Mar Sci 1:143–168
Cordes EE, Hourdez S, Roberts HH (2010) Unusual habitats and organisms associated with the cold seeps of the Gulf of Mexico. In: Kiel S (ed) The vent and seep biota: aspects from microbes to ecosystems. Topics in geobiology, vol 33. Springer, Berlin, pp 315–332
Degens E, Ross DA (1969) Hot brines and recent heavy metal deposits in the Red Sea. Springer, New York
Eder W, Ludwig W, Huber R (1999) Novel 16S rRNA gene sequences retrieved from highly saline brine sediments of Kebrit Deep, Red Sea. Arch Microbiol 172(4):213–218
Eder W, Jahnke LL, Schmidt M, Huber R (2001) Microbial diversity of the brine-seawater interface of the Kebrit Deep, Red Sea, studied via 16S rRNA gene sequences and cultivation methods. Appl Environ Microbiol 67(7):3077–3085
Eder W, Schmidt M, Koch M, Garbe-Schönberg D, Huber R (2002) Prokaryotic phylogenetic diversity and corresponding geochemical data of the brine–seawater interface of the Shaban Deep, Red Sea. Environ Microbiol 4(11):758–763
Fiala G, Woese CR, Langworthy TA, Stetter KO (1990) Flexistipes sinusarabici, a novel genus and species of eubacteria occurring in the Atlantis II Deep brines of the Red Sea. Arch Microbiol 154(2):120–126
Guan Y, Hikmawan T, Antunes A, Ngugi D, Stingl U (2015) Diversity of methanogens and sulfate-reducing bacteria in the interfaces of five deep-sea anoxic brines of the Red Sea. Res Microbiol 166(9):688–699
Hartmann M, Scholten JC, Stoffers P, Wehner F (1998) Hydrographic structure of brine-filled deeps in the Red Sea—new results from the Shaban, Kebrit, Atlantis II, and Discovery Deep. Mar Geol 144:311–330
Kaartvedt S, Antunes A, Røstad A, Klevjer TA, Vestheim H (2016) Zooplankton at deep Red Sea brine pools. J Plankton Res 38(3):679–684
La Cono V, Arcadi E, Spada GL, Barreca D, Laganà G, Bellocco E, Catalfamo M, Smedile F, Messina E, Giuliano L, Yakimov MM (2015) A three-component microbial consortium from deep-sea salt-saturated anoxic Lake Thetis links anaerobic glycine betaine degradation with methanogenesis. Microorganisms 3(3):500–517
Monin AS, Litvin VM, Podrazhansky AM, Sagalevich AM, Sorokhtin OG, Voitov VI, Yastrebov VS, Zonenshain LP (1982) Red Sea submersible research expedition. Deep Sea Res Part A Oceanogr Res Pap 29(3):361–373
Mwirichia R, Alam I, Rashid M, Vinu M, Ba-Alawi W, Kamau AA, Ngugi DK, Göker M, Klenk HP, Bajic V, Stingl U (2016) Metabolic traits of an uncultured archaeal lineage-MSBL1-from brine pools of the Red Sea. Sci Rep 6:19181
Ngugi DK, Blom J, Alam I, Rashid M, Ba-Alawi W, Zhang G, Hikmawan T, Guan Y, Antunes A, Siam R, El Dorry H (2015) Comparative genomics reveals adaptations of a halotolerant thaumarchaeon in the interfaces of brine pools in the Red Sea. ISME J 9(2):396–411
Ngugi DK, Blom J, Stepanauskas R, Stingl U (2016) Diversification and niche adaptations of Nitrospina-like bacteria in the polyextreme interfaces of Red Sea brines. ISME J 10(6):1383–1399
Nigro LM, Hyde AS, MacGregor BJ, Teske A (2016) Phylogeography, salinity adaptations and metabolic potential of the candidate Division KB1 Bacteria based on a partial single cell genome. Front Microbiol 7:1266
Oliver PG, Vestheim H, Antunes A, Kaartvedt S (2015) Systematics, functional morphology and distribution of a bivalve (Apachecorbula muriatica gen. et sp. nov.) from the rim of the ‘Valdivia Deep’ brine pool in the Red Sea. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 95(03):523–535
Pätzold J, Halbach PE, Hempel G, Weikert H (2000) Östliches Mittelmeer—Nördliches Rotes Meer 1999, Cruise No. 44, 22 January–16 May 1999. METEOR-Berichte, Universität Hamburg, 00-3, p 240
Pätzold J, Bohrmann G, Hübscher C (2003) Black Sea–Mediterranean–Red Sea, Cruise No. 52, January 2–March 27, 2002. METEOR-Berichte, Universität Hamburg, 03-2, p 178
Pfannkuche O (1993) Benthic standing stock and metabolic activity in the bathyal Red Sea from 17°N to 27°N. Mar Ecol 14(1):67–79
Sagar S, Esau L, Hikmawan T, Antunes A, Holtermann K, Stingl U, Bajic VB, Kaur M (2013a) Cytotoxic and apoptotic evaluations of marine bacteria isolated from brine-seawater interface of the Red Sea. BMC Complement Altern Med 13:29
Sagar S, Esau L, Holtermann K, Hikmawan T, Zhang G, Stingl U, Bajic VB, Kaur M (2013b) Induction of apoptosis in cancer cell lines by the Red Sea brine pool bacterial extracts. BMC Complement Altern Med 13:344
Schmidt M, Al-Farawati R, Al-Aidaroos A, Kürten B (2013) RV PELAGIA Fahrtbericht/ Cruise Report 64PE350/64PE351-JEDDAH-TRANSECT; 08.03.-05.04.2012 Jeddah-Jeddah, 06.04-22.04.2012 Jeddah-Duba. GEOMAR Report, N. Ser. 005, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, p 154. https://doi.org/10.3289/geomar_rep_ns_5_2013
Schmidt M, Al-Farawati R, Botz R (2015) Geochemical classification of brine-filled Red Sea deeps. In: Rasul NMA, Stewart ICF (eds) The Red Sea: the formation, morphology, oceanography and environment of a young ocean basin. Springer Earth System Sciences, Berlin, pp 219–233. ISBN 978-3-662-45200-4. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-45201-1_13
Schmidt M, Botz R, Faber E, Schmitt M, Poggenburg J, Garbe-Schönberg D, Stoffers P (2003) High-resolution methane profiles across anoxic brine-seawater boundaries in the Atlantis-II, Discovery, and Kebrit deeps (Red Sea). Chem Geol 200:359–376
Schmidt M, Devey C, Eisenhauer A (2011) FS Poseidon Fahrtbericht/ Cruise Report P408-The Jeddah Transect; Jeddah-Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 13.01.-02.03.2011 IFM-GEOMAR Report 46. IFM-GEOMAR, Kiel, p 80
Scholten J, Stoffers P, Garbe-Schönberg D, Moammar M (2000) Hydrothermal mineralization in the Red Sea. In: Cronan DS (ed) Marine mineral deposits. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 369–395
Seeberg-Elverfeldt IA, Lange CB, Pätzold J (2004) Preservation of siliceous microplankton in surface sediments of the northern Red Sea. Mar Micropaleontol 51:193–211
Swift SA, Bower AS, Schmitt RW (2012) Vertical, horizontal, and temporal changes in temperature in the Atlantis II and Discovery hot brine pools, Red Sea. Deep-Sea Res I 64:118–128
Trüper HG (1969) Bacterial sulfate reduction in the Red Sea hot brines. In: Degens ET, Ross DA (eds) Hot brines and recent heavy metal deposits in the Red Sea. Springer, Berlin, pp 263–271
Van der Wielen PW, Bolhuis H, Borin S, Daffonchio D, Corselli C, Giuliano L, D’Auria G, de Lange GJ, Huebner A, Varnavas SP, Thomson J (2005) The enigma of prokaryotic life in deep hypersaline anoxic basins. Science 307(5706):121–123
Vestheim H, Kaartvedt S (2016) A deep sea community at the Kebrit brine pool in the Red Sea. Mar Biodiv 46(1):59–65
Vetriani C, Crespo-Medina M, Antunes A (2014) The family Salinisphaeraceae. In: Rosenberg E, DeLong EF, Lory S, Stackebrandt E, Thompson F (eds) The Prokaryotes: Gammaproteobacteria. Springer, Berlin, pp 591–596. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38922-1_296
Watson SW, Waterbury JB (1969) The sterile hot brines of the Red Sea. In: Degens ET, Ross DA (eds) Hot brines and recent heavy metal deposits in the Red Sea. Springer, New York, pp 272–281
Whiticar MJ, Faber E (1986) Methane oxidation in sediment and water column environments: isotope evidence. Org Geochem 10:759–768
Yakimov MM, La Cono V, Slepak VZ, La Spada G, Arcadi E, Messina E, Borghini M, Monticelli LS, Rojo D, Barbas C, Golyshina OV (2013) Microbial life in the Lake Medee, the largest deep-sea salt-saturated formation. Sci Rep 3:3554
Yin J, Chen JC, Wu Q, Chen GQ (2015) Halophiles, coming stars for industrial biotechnology. Biotechnol Adv 33(7):1433–1442
Young RA, Ross DA (1974) Volcanic and sedimentary processes in the Red Sea axial trough. Deep-Sea Res Oceanogr Abstr 21(4):289–297
Zhang G, Haroon MF, Zhang R, Hikmawan T, Stingl U (2016a) Draft genome sequence of Pseudoalteromonas sp. strain XI10 isolated from the brine-seawater interface of Erba Deep in the Red Sea. Genome Announc 4(2):e00109–16
Zhang G, Haroon MF, Zhang R, Hikmawan T, Stingl U (2016b) Draft genome sequences of two Thiomicrospira strains isolated from the brine-seawater interface of Kebrit Deep in the Red Sea. Genome Announc 4(2):e00110–16
Acknowledgements
Most of the geochemical sampling and analytical work associated with the new data presented here has been conducted within the Jeddah-Transect Project (www.jeddah-transect.org). The collaboration of the Jeddah Transect Project between King Abdulaziz University and Helmholtz-Center for Ocean Research GEOMAR Kiel was funded by King Abdulaziz University (KAU) Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, under grant No. T-065/430-DSR. Moreover, geochemical data is presented which is based on interface sampling during RV Meteor cruises (ME44/3 and 52/3). Analytical support by D. Garbe-Schönberg, H. Erlenkeuser, and M. Böttcher was highly welcome.
Overall, the work presented in this chapter is the outcome of several years of research in this field. The authors are particularly indebted to former colleagues at the University of Regensburg, and at the Red Sea Research Center, Computational Bioscience Research Center, and the Coastal and Marine Resource Core Laboratory of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Part of the research presented here has been funded by the FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal), DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Germany), and SEDCO (Saudi Economic and Development Company, Saudi Arabia).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Antunes, A., Kaartvedt, S., Schmidt, M. (2019). Geochemistry and Life at the Interfaces of Brine-Filled Deeps in the Red Sea. In: Rasul, N., Stewart, I. (eds) Oceanographic and Biological Aspects of the Red Sea. Springer Oceanography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99417-8_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99417-8_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-99416-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-99417-8
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)