Population Genetics Eye color Hair color Height Nose size Foot size Brown Blond Red Auburn Black Green Blue Hazel R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E

Asexual reproduction Time Mutation Driven Changes No Recombination to mix traits among individuals

The Hypersaline Environment

Haloarchaea in the 16S rRNA phylogeny Aerobic Heterotrophic Obligate Halophiles

Haloarchaea dominate the hypersaline environment ~35% NaCl (Saturation) Low solubility of gasses Low diffusion rates High temperatures High cell densities Little/no primary production Island-like

Adaptive Characteristics of Halobacteria Cytosolic salinity = environmental condition Proteins consist of acidic amino acids – asp, glu Utilize light energy Gas vesicles High surface to volume ratio

Population genetics assessment of homologous recombination Ground level view Sampled 3 sites: 2 salinity ponds from a Spanish saltern (Alicante, 36 & 22%) and an Algerian hypersaline lake (22%) ~250km away Isolated 153 Halorubrum spp. strains, using the same medium Sequenced 5 loci (~450nt ea.): 16S rRNA, AtpB, EF-2, RadA and Bacteriorhodopsin (Bop) Google Earth view

Halorubrum Concatenated 5-gene Phylogeny

eBURST Results: Identifying “Clonal Complexes” Group 1 Group 2 Group 3

eBURST Results: Recombination vs. Mutation

Assessing Recombination vs Assessing Recombination vs. Mutation Using Single Locus Variant Analysis Number of nucleotide changes Sequence Type 16S rRNA Unique Allele? atpB bop Ef-2 radA

Nucleotides Recombined Recombination vs. Mutation Nucleotides Recombined Nucleotides Mutated Alleles Recombined Group 1 79 1 25 Group 2 34 12 Group 3 5

High Gene Flow Model: A Force for Homogenization and Diversification